AlternativeS
by Satashi
Summary: Fate awakens in a world where nobody knows who she is. Caught in a time-line where she died at age nine, Fate has to fight for her friends who don't know her while trying to find a way to return to her family.
1. Chapter 1

My red eyes slowly opened, squinting as they tried to focus. I could see clouds floating in the sky above me and I couldn't help but let out a long slow groan as I sat up. My hair picked up small strands of freshly mowed grass in it as it dragged across the ground. '_What... where am I?_' The questions came at once and I swallowed thickly, realizing my throat was parched. '_I feel like my whole body was scrambled..._' Moving one hand to rub my eyes, I placed the other on the ground beside me and yelped when I realized that Bardiche was in Haken Form minus the plasma glow of his blade. "B-Bardiche? What... what happened to us?"

**AlternativeS**

**By:**

**Satashi**

"Memory blocks for the past twelve hours are missing, sir," the device told her helplessly.

"...Why am I in my barrier jacket?" Fate slowly stood and stumbled back to her knees when her vision swam in front of her. "Ugh... Bardiche, can you scan me?"

"Already have sir; condition green."

"Thank you..." Fate took a long steadying breath and felt a little better when she exhaled it. "If I'm here, then the others might be in danger... I think this qualifies as a time to engage in flight without permission... Let's go, Bardiche!"

"Yes sir!"

Fate leapt into the air and twisted once to stabilize herself before looking around from her bird's eye view. "I'm in the park in the town, so that means the base is westward." After nodding to herself, she took off and formed a small barrier around herself to block most of the wind gushing past her.

"Incoming communication, sir." Bardiche informed her, popping a monitor up and to the side of the woman's vision.

"Connect." Fate replied easily, relieved that she was being contacted.

"Unidentified mage, you have entered a restricted air flight zone in military use. State your name and land immediately or you will be fired upon."

Fate blinked at the harsh command and looked at the man she didn't recognize on the screen. "Fate T. Harlaown, lead enforcer of Section Six on my way back from a battle. I need a status update for the past twelve hours."

The man typed a few things on a floating keyboard before glaring at Fate. "There is no mage by that name stationed here. Please land at once."

Fate growled. "Look, I was knocked out in battle and have no idea what is going on, I need a status update!"

Again the man frowned. "Land right now, mage, or you will be intercepted. This is your last warning."

The blonde sighed and cut the communication off, flying to the front of her familiar base. '_I'll have to find Hayate or someone to find out what's going on._' As she started walking to the door, Signum exited it and stood in front of the blond. "Signum, thank goodness." She offered her friend a relieved smile. "I was knocked out some time ago and--"

"How do you know my name?"

Fate stopped talking for a few seconds, looking at her friend with a slightly open mouth. "Signum, please, I am seriously worried that--"

"Answer my question, mage. You entered a military base without permission after being warned that hostile action would be taken. This is a restricted zone."

"Signum, this isn't funny!" Fate's voice started shaking, fear settling in on her. "Please, I am really worried here; I don't need this!"

"I need to restrain you and take you so you can be questioned. Will you come with me quietly?"

"Signum!" Fate shouted now, tears in her eyes. "Why are you doing this; I need your help right now! This isn't funny!" When the woman didn't reply, Fate averted her eyes and moved to walk past the girl. Signum's hand lashed out to grab the blonde, only to be avoided nimbly with a glare. Before the warrior could make another attempt, Hayate made it to them, already in her Barrier Jacket. Ignoring the reason why Hayate cut her hair, or the fact that she looked shockingly younger to her, Fate addressed her friend. "Hayate, will you--"

Hayate pointed her staff at Fate and glared at her with serious eyes. "Put down your weapon and identify yourself."

"What...?" Fate felt her legs shake but managed to keep herself standing. "Hayate... What is going on?" The tip of the staff lowered slightly when a tear fell from Fate's eye. "I don't... understand... Why are you acting like this...?"

Signum looked at Hayate and then back at the blonde who was on the edge of a breakdown. "I think the best course of action right now would be for you to come with us for a while and get some questions answered. Why do you know our names and why are you insisting that we know you?"

"Nanoha..." Fate's voice was soft, unsure of herself anymore. "I want to see Nanoha and Vivio."

Hayate positioned her staff in a less threatening way and put a hand on her hip, judging the woman in front of her. "Why do you want to see Nanoha-chan?"

"Please. Just please, okay? I need to see her..."

Signum stood behind the woman and put a hand on Fate's shoulder. "Mistress, I can take her from here."

"Please," Fate spoke again. "Just let me see them?"

"Who is Vivio?" Hayate asked, making Fate stiffen. "Okay, okay... I will ask for Nanoha-chan to come to the interrogation room, if you come along quietly."

"Mistress!?"

"I don't think she will cause any trouble." Hayate told her friend. "I would prefer that this went smoothly…Now, can you tell me your name?"

"Fate." The red eyed girl finally spoke up. "Fate T. Harlaown."

Regarding the last name as a coincidence, Hayate simply nodded. "Signum, please escort Fate-san here to the interrogation room. I will get Nanoha and ask her to accompany me there."

Signum nodded and addressed Fate again. "Please disarm your device." She watched Fate recall her staff and place the gem in a slot on her left glove. "Thank you. This way, please." Putting her hand on Fate's back, she began to lead her.

Silence hung over the two as they slowly walked across the base while Hayate flew off towards the training field ahead of them. No words were spoken during the long walk, and Fate felt a little bit of relief when she entered into the air conditioned building after a few minutes of walking in the direction Hayate took off in. Together they went to an elevator and Fate ignored the strange look she got when she pushed the button for the correct floor. After exiting, she made her way to the room and opened it, seeing Nanoha and Hayate already sitting behind the desk in the room.

After sitting down, Fate looked at Nanoha's questioning face and felt her heart break completely. "You... don't know who I am, do you?"

Nanoha looked at the woman in front of herself and slowly shook her head. "I'm... sorry? I don't remember you..."

Hayate spoke up, giving the woman a confused look. "Fate-san, could you please answer some questions for us? We have gone out of our way for you so much already." Fate nodded sadly, eyes still focused on Nanoha. "You told our contact that you were stationed here, am I correct?"

"Yes. Bardiche, could you?"

"Yes sir." Several monitors popped up, displaying Fate's I.D and information.

"Lightning one," Signum noted. "That is my call sign."

Fate didn't say anything. Instead, Hayate continued where she left off. "This looks too good to be faked... She even has our friendly unit code...It says here you live... In Nanoha's room."

Fate nodded again. "Yes, along with Vivio."

Nanoha shook her head. "Who is Vivio?" She almost flinched when Fate looked as if she had just lost her will to live. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." She glanced at Hayate with a confused expression and leaned closer so she could whisper. "What happened to this girl?"

"I don't know," Hayate replied back softly. Turning back to Fate, she spoke up again. "Fate-san, you said something about being knocked out? Why are you in battle mode?"

Fate was looking down at her hands on the table, talking so softly she almost couldn't be heard. "I don't know... I woke up and have no memory of the battle I was in or how I even got there... The last I recall was dropping Vivio off at school."

"That name... why would that person be in my room?"

"She's our daughter," Fate revealed, voice breaking again. "You... You really don't remember me? Nanoha?"

Nanoha swallowed and leaned back, stammering over her words. The woman in front of her was obviously upset because of this, but she honestly couldn't remember anything. "Tell me something I would remember?"

"Our marriage?" Nanoha shook her head at Fate's words. "Adopting Vivio? Growing up, swapping ribbons?" When Nanoha kept shaking her head, Fate started getting desperate. "Anything? You saved me from my mother--" When Nanoha's eyes widened slightly, and Fate felt a small bit of hope. "When we were nine, I attacked you for the jewel seeds!"

"I... I remember that, that was when I met Yuuno-kun and found out I was a mage..."

Fate nodded, reaching over and taking both of Nanoha's hands, much to everyone's displeasure. "Yes! And Arf, my familiar! Suzuka and Arisa!"

Nanoha shook her head, unsure, and pulled her hands back. "How... can you know what happened on Earth..."

"That was me! The girl with pigtails! We fought and fought and you kept trying to get me to talk to you, and then when I was captured I came to help you against my mother. You offered your hand and saved me!"

Nanoha shook her head again. "But I... that girl died." This time Fate shook her head. "I remember it... I was yelling at her... to take my hand... and she didn't... she reached for her mother and was pulled into the void..."

"No... no, I reached for _you_. You saved me!" She felt Signum place a hand on her shoulder and she sat back down. "This isn't happening..."

"Fate, could you look at me...?" Nanoha leaned forward and ignored her friend's glances. Gently she touched Fate's cheeks and looked into her eyes. "I remember... those eyes. They were so very sad...."

Fate leaned lightly against the palms and placed her hand over Nanoha's. "I didn't die... Why is everything so suddenly different... I don't..."

"Lets talk somewhere more comfortable," Nanoha requested softly. "Hayate-chan, I don't think she is a threat. We need to let her settle down and try and figure out why she knows all of this. I think we should help her."

Hayate let out a breath but agreed anyway. "You always were one to help people no matter what... But I agree, this is a very confusing situation."

"Okay then, let's go to my room, Fate-chan. Signum, could you watch my students for an hour?" She got a nod and a very thankful look from Fate. "Let's go then." her hands pulled back and moved back under the table. A moment later she moved back and ran her palm over a small orb on her chair, gliding over to a shocked Fate. "Fate-chan?"

Fate felt everything stop, seeing nothing but Nanoha in a wheelchair. The questions around her started to fade out and she felt as if sand was pouring all over her body before she collapsed to her knees and then to the floor. The last thing she heard was her name being shouted and Signum trying to catch her.

Fate moaned as a cool, damp washcloth was moved over her cheeks. "Wha...?"

"Don't force yourself," a gentle voice warned her softly.

"Shamal..." Fate spoke up, resting easier when the familiar voice was heard. "I had the worst nightmare... I went home and nobody remembered who I was... Nanoha was in a wheelchair..." Her red eyes slowly opened and she looked at the doctor. "It was horrible."

"...I'm sorry to say this, but that wasn't a dream." Shamal gave her patient a sympathetic look. "Fate-san, was it?"

The blonde closed her eyes and stayed silent for a long moment before answering. "...Yes."

"Can you answer some standard questions for me?"

"Yes."

"Do you hurt anywhere?"

"No."

"No headache or sore joints?"

"A little sore, but nothing bad."

Shamal clicked her tongue and scribbled on her pad. "Do you have a medical record I can review?"

Fate finally spoke up again after accepting the fact that she was still where she was. "Bardiche, please give Shamal my records." She watched a monitor appear before her and Shamal inspect it.

"They told me you said you knew all of us?" Shamal read over the information before her, staring at the perfect notes and then seeing her name by the doctor who treated the woman. "I see you know me as well, not just my name."

"Yes..." Fate sat up and moved her feet off the bed to sit. "You always treated me. I'm sure you'll find anything you want to know in there... Nanoha isn't here, is she?"

"No, she went to finish training her students, but requested me to contact her when you woke up. Were you expecting her to be here?"

Fate shook her head and stood, looking down at her Barrier Jacket before dismissing it to her normal enforcer uniform. "Shamal, I'm going to the training grounds, if you need me please contact Bardiche, okay?"

"I'm sorry I can't let you go without being escorted..." Her words trailed when the blonde looked at the floor sadly. '_Well, if both Hayate and Nanoha don't think she is a threat, then I'm sure she won't be any __danger._ Taking a breath, Shamal began to close down the monitors. "... Tell you what; you are my last patient today, so, how about I walk with you?"

"Thank you, I would like that." Fate allowed the woman to collect her things and close her office before walking along the hallways with her.

"So, how much do you know about us?"

Fate kept her eyes ahead, wondering how exactly to answer that. "You took care of me since I was nine... I remember getting my flu shots every year and being put on diets when I ate too many snacks..." A small smile came to her lips at the bittersweet memory. "We met back in the Book of Darkness incident--"

"How did you know about that?" Shamal almost stopped walking. "That is classified information."

"I was there." Fate replied back simply. "You and I didn't fight much, that was mainly Signum. I met Hayate then as well, on Christmas Eve back on Earth..." Fate finally looked over at her. "Am I in some sort of fantasy world?"

"Or are you in the normal world with a fantasy memory?" Shamal answered back. "The possibility of this isn't unheard of, although rare."

"There have been others like me?"

"Time-space distortion, a rare occurrence when going from subspace to normal space. However, those situations have been nothing more than losing time, not entering in alternate realities where only they have changed. Your situation is unique and I can't really offer you any more information until we understand why you have these memories that aren't real."

Fate had to run a few steps to catch up. "They have to be real, I experienced them all."

"The possibilities are too many right now. I will research it, though. Hayate already requested my help in the case."

Fate felt a small smile on her lips. "She doesn't change." The doctor returned the smile and continued the small walk to the training field, where Nanoha was sitting before the active training barrier. "Nanoha-chan."

Nanoha glanced over her shoulder and grinned before moving her left hand over the control orb of her wheelchair to turn herself around. "Shamal-san, Fate-chan, hello. Have you collected yourself, Fate-chan?"

Red eyes stared at the girl before her. "I am trying, but everything is so confusing..." Taking a step forward, she knelt down to be on a more eye-level with her friend. "When you had that accident, way back when we were twelve... is that when you lost your ability to walk?"

"Shouldn't you know that if you've been with me all this time?" Nanoha replied back easily, curiously testing the girl.

"The Nanoha I know... fought through it, and didn't give up. I helped her every day until she could walk again." Her gaze softened. "I'm sorry..."

Nanoha blinked and made her chair move back a little. "Thank you, but I am fine. I am a tactical teacher and spell developer. Your Nanoha was the same?"

"Stars leader and special task trainer. She lead a unit as well as trained forward students and normal recruits... She also shoved all her paper work off on her poor students." Judging from the laughter in Nanoha's eyes, that part stayed the same. Before she could continue the conversation, a flashing red monitor appeared beside Nanoha, demanding attention.

"Nanoha-chan!" Hayate's face appeared on the screen. "There are some drones near the bridge leading into the city. They are a new model, probably a test run, but I need three or four people to launch an attack while we defend in case it is a feint!"

Fate looked at the screen, eyes on the drones. "That's... not a new model."

Nanoha turned back to Fate. "You have seen these before?"

"Of course... They were Scaglietti's, a prototype for the more advanced drones."

Hayate addressed Fate now. "You have encountered them before, correct?"

"Yes." She nodded.

Hayate eyed the woman hard. "You said you were stationed under me, right?"

Fate set her eyes, knowing that tone of voice. "Ma'am!"

"What is your rank, Fate-san?"

The blonde pulled Bardiche and recalled her just recently discarded jacket. "SS. I can handle them all by myself while recording their motions for you. Requesting permission for personal flight."

"Granted."

"Hayate-chan!" Nanoha interrupted sharply. "We can't just send her--!"

"Nanoha," Fate spoke up, smiling at her lovingly. "I want to talk to you when I get back, okay? I'll treat you to Fuji's." With that, she flew into the air, twisted, and headed off to the combat site. '_If these are here, and if what Shamal said was true..._' The drones came into sight and she ignited her scythe. '_Then Scaglietti is alive...and if I have indeed lost time in my transfer, then that means that the horrible war hasn't occurred yet."_

The blonde entered the combat area and flew around several small beams of magical energy shot at her from the robots. Spinning and twirling, she made sure that her cameras were catching the capabilities of the new units. Although she herself knew exactly what they were capable of, a small part of her mind was still wary of her situation and was actively looking for some type of influx in their power range. Finally, after several minutes of dodging, she began attacking as well, cleaving through drone after drone with her scythe as well as magical daggers shot from a distance.

Thunder clapped around her in the sky and red eyes looked upwards as bits and pieces of metal fell to the water below her. '_That's strange; it wasn't cloudy a moment ago..._' Another attack was made and small drops of rain started falling around her, making the woman try and wrap up the situation before the rain got too hard.

The mage struck down the last flight unit and floated in the air, looking around for what was making her feel so uncomfortable. A bolt of lightning illuminated the area for a brief moment, revealing a figure in the air not too far from her. "State your name!" Fate yelled out at the person.

The mage flew closer to her, revealing a pre-teen form. Fate stared, her grip on Bardiche loosening lightly. Dark purple armor was covering the boy's body, matched by a lighter shade of the same color. Four translucent wings were buzzing behind himself to keep him afloat and in his right hand, a matching spear was gripped at the ready. "Er..io?"

Erio lifted his head lightly, staring at the woman before him as a harsh gust of wind scattered the rain all around them. "I see you've heard of me. I don't recall you, though."

"Its me... Fate." She flew towards him but found Erio lifting his spear to point at her. "Erio?"

"Fate?" He smirked. "What an ironic name. Tell me, Fate, how are you able to take out this small army by yourself? Section Six's top mages are still at the base."

"You don't remember me either..." Fate realized with a bit of despair.

A metallic voice rang up in the storm then, calling Fate's attention. "On alert, sir."

Fate nodded and gripped her weapon harder. "Erio, why are you here?"

"Just observing. The doctor wanted me to see how the new models would hold up in combat."

"So you're with him." She knew it before she said it. Granted, Jail had been looking for him before she found the boy, but something was different... "That armor...it looks like something Lutecia could summon?"

"Oh? You know her?" His cocky attitude was apparent. "Why yes, she gave me this."

"So does that mean... Caro is there as well?"

Erio seemed even more interested. "You seem to know a lot."

Fate licked her lips, tasting the rain on her tongue. "It's nothing..."

"Is that so?" Erio observed her a moment longer before a monitor appeared next to him. "Doctor, I have a new opponent here who seems to know us. Should I bring her back with me?"

Jail ran his hand through his light purple hair. Yellow, catlike, eyes looked over at Fate from the display and a smirk appeared on his face. "How interesting! How very interesting!" He looked back at the monitor showing Erio and smiled widely. "Do not engage her, but send her a little gift from Lutecia."

"Roger that." Erio cut off the display and looked back over at Fate. "Seems you get to see another day," He taunted, flinging out his hand for dramatics. "I'll see you around, Fate." With that, he flew backwards a moment before turning completely and darting off into the dark sky.

Fate swallowed thickly and finally lowered Bardiche. The rain splattered over her face and was starting to blur her vision. "If Erio and the girls are with Scaglietti, then… what else is different from what I know?" Giving a short sigh, Fate turned around herself and put up a small barrier to keep the rain off of her as she made her way back to base. Landing on the helipad, she walked to the door and through it before letting down her shields and shaking her head to try and sling the water from her hair.

The familiar path was followed, hands rubbing her arms to fight the chill of the base's air conditioning on her wet body. When she entered the debriefing room, she felt a little odd that nobody was inside. '_Should I have gone to the command room directly?_' Her question was answered when the sound of boots clicking on the smooth floor came to her ears. Fate turned her head and leaned back a little to peek outside the doorway she was standing in, seeing not only Hayate walking towards her, but Nanoha at her side.

Giving them a small smile, waited for them there. "Hey," she greeted when the girls were close enough.

"We thought you would return to the training field," Hayate told her lightly. "But you landed where you were supposed to and even came to the right room..."

"I've told you, Hayate," The blonde spoke softly while moving to sit inside the room. "I live here; I'm just... not where I'm supposed to be." Saying the words aloud seemed to finally start to drive the fact into her mind.

Nanoha made herself comfortable next to Hayate as she sat and leaned forward on the table, looking at the woman in front of her. Small drops of water were dripping from her hair and the ruby red eyes were downcast once more. "Thank you for fighting," Nanoha voiced her thoughts, getting looked at. "Did you get hurt?"

"No," Fate shook her head lightly. "Something like that won't hurt me."

Hayate leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Thank you for your help, Fate-san. We got a lot of information that will help us prepare for the next battle."

Fate turned to look at the other girl. "I know that voice, you're wondering what to do with me now."

Hayate looked at the blonde and felt a little off at having been read so easily. "Yes, I am. I think I can spare you a room for the meantime, under surveillance for the time being, I'm afraid. I hope you understand."

"A powerful mage comes out of nowhere, claims to know everyone and may be from another world with no proof of any of this... I understand completely, Hayate."

"Thank you." Hayate nodded. "I'll show you to your room, I'm sure you want to take a while to settle down."

Fate glanced over at Nanoha. "Actually, I'd like to talk with Nanoha a bit... can I offer to buy you..." she trailed off and looked at Bardiche. "Bardiche, how much money do I have?"

"None, sir. Your bank account will not connect."

Fate looked down dejectedly. "I should have realized that sooner."

Nanoha smiled lightly. "How about I cook for you instead? You can come to my room for a while."

"Nanoha-chan." Hayate whispered softly to her in a firm, disapproving voice.

"Its okay," Nanoha replied just as soft, but with a lighter tone. "You know that the battle in the past, when I first got my magic, really upset me... I still have nightmares about not saving that girl... and even if she can lie so well, her eyes make me feel the same as they did back then... She's scared and confused."

Hayate looked at Nanoha's determined face and slowly exhaled. "Okay, I won't stop you… But please understand I have to watch her, even if I do trust you and she fights for us."

"I know, you're just protecting everyone." Nanoha took Hayate's hand and gave it a small squeeze before looking back at Fate. "Shall we?"

"Yes," Fate stood and walked out of the room with the two girls. Her red eyes looked down at Nanoha's wheelchair and realized that there were no handles on the back. Instead she seemed to be in an almost a small vehicle. Several orbs were on her left hand-rest and one was on her right, which Fate noticed was never used. From the lines on the side of the device, she could tell it held many storage containers and the wheels seemed to be very sturdy. Judging from the handicap laws, Fate could only imagine that stairs probably wouldn't even be an obstacle for Nanoha's chair.

If the brunette noticed the staring, she didn't say anything. Instead, Nanoha stayed quiet until they were back on the bottom floor of the main base. When the elevator doors opened, both she and Hayate groaned at the same time. Fate blinked but followed their gaze to two people standing at the receptionist desk of the main lobby.

The man of the group turned and looked at them before standing his full height, smirking with an attitude that made the blonde suppress a shiver. "Yo, midget." He hailed Hayate with a voice full of sarcasm. "And Wingless as well, hello." He looked down at Nanoha, who frowned up at him.

Fate felt anger rise in her chest when she heard the names and stood in front of the two out of instinct when addressing him. Her eyes went to the man's badges on his uniform to check the rank before talking to him casually. "And you are, sir?"

"Salute your superiors." He stated flatly.

"When I see one, I will." Fate shot back, astonished at his rudeness to someone he'd never met.

Hayate interrupted, getting straight to the point. "Why are you here, Lexus?"

"Enemy units were engaged by an unknown mage, who landed here." He looked at Fate. "Is that her?"

"I engaged." Fate told him simply.

"You got yourself a mage ranked over A; I'm impressed, Midget."

Nanoha chose this time to interject. "She is stationed with us; if you have no other business, then leave, Lexus."

"Quiet, Wingless."

Fate stepped in front of Nanoha more and glared. "Do not call her that; it is rude."

Lexus smirked. "So?"

"I don't like you. Please leave." Fate said the words softly, but the man still chuckled before turning and waving over his shoulder.

"See you around, Midget." With that, the man and his unknown partner left the building, laughing at a joke that the three women missed.

Fate looked over at Hayate, who seemed to be holding herself back quite a bit. "Who was that?"

"...Long story." The smaller woman whispered, annoyed.

Nanoha decided to answer as they started moving again, heading to the side exit that was closer to the residential building. "Lexus commands a division much like ours. We focus on Lost Logia and Relics; whereas he combines the air, sea, and land forces into one 'super fleet' that can help any situation... Which is what we were _supposed_ to do as well."

Fate thought about it a moment. "So why do they have that right instead of you?"

Hayate picked back up. "He has triple-A ranked air, land, and sea mages. Even though I'm an SS ranked mage..." She looked up at Fate, who claimed to be the same rank.

"I don't mind," Nanoha spoke up when a small delay made her notice what was bothering her best friend. "When I had my accident, I went from the top flight Ace to being..." She looked to the side. "A 'wingless' bird who can only train students."

"That's... that's horrible." Fate almost stopped walking. "How can he call you that!?"

"I'm used to it by now. It annoys me more than anything." Nanoha shook her head.

"That doesn't give him any right to--"

Hayate interrupted the rant before it could start. "Anyway, he has the best mages, so he gets the best support. His budget is twice that of mine and he doesn't miss an opportunity to rub it in my face."

"Why?"

"If I disband my unit, he will get my base for his to expand, as well as my funding. He will get promoted as well, I'm sure."

Fate looked down at the ground. "How low can you get... Just because I wasn't here."

Hayate glanced to the side, taking in Fate's angry and sad face. "You were there in your world. I'm sure I'm happy there."

"...You believe me?"

Hayate stopped at Nanoha's doorway and crossed her arms with a teasing smile. "Do you know Nanoha's password to enter her room?"

Fate stepped to the hand scanner, knowing she wasn't stored in it. The small password screen was to the left, just like always. Lifting her hand to touch the numbers, she stopped and thought a moment. '_It won't be her birthday, nor mine... She hasn't met Vivio yet so it won't be hers...Of course it would have nothing __to do with me, so maybe Hayate?... No, she never used Hayate before because it would be a security risk..._' Licking her lips, she pressed a button on the small screen to bring up the keyboard for the alphabet. Her first choice was Arisa, which was beeped at. Secondly she tried Suzuka and got the same result.

Pausing a moment, she thought hard, back in the past where she was on Earth with everyone else. '_She told me she felt isolated... loved but not being a part of it. She always said she felt left out despite everyone always smiling at her..._' A grin came to Fate's mouth and she started moving her hand once more, typing out the word carefully: Happiness

The confirmation beep came and the door slid open, making both Hayate and Nanoha look at her in shock. "Back then," Fate told them softly, looking over her shoulder. "Nanoha wanted something more, something that she could have but also give to everyone else. When she could teach people, she would share it with them and use it to help guide their lives, just as she helped guide mine. I told her then, that more than anyone else in my life... She made me the happiest..." The girl looked down, lightly embarrassed. "I just thought that part of you would stay the same, even if I wasn't there to say it..."

After a small moment of silence, Hayate waved at Fate and Nanoha. "Well, I'm going to handle the paperwork. Nanoha-chan, please take care of our guest." She got a nod. "Fate-chan, I'm assuming?" This time Fate nodded at her, also smiling at getting the familiar honorific added to her name. "Until I deem it otherwise, you will be stationed here. I'll need you to fill out forms tomorrow and talk with Shari-chan and Yuuno-kun about your situation... And we'll just go from there." Patting the girl on the back, she grinned and went on her way.

Fate watched the girl walk from them and waved lightly when the girl turned to press the button on the elevator. "She's the same."

Nanoha moved herself into her apartment and felt the blonde follow her in. "How about my home? Is it the same where you come from?"

Expecting the difference already, Fate shook her head lightly. "No, it's different. Hayate designed it herself and we picked out our furniture. Of course it will be tailored to fit just you." Her eyes scanned the area, taking in the new room. The layout was the same, as were the locations of the furniture, but the similarities ended there. The furniture itself was different, and was obviously meant for someone in a wheelchair. The small kitchen area had less under-the-counter storage and instead was laid out to let Nanoha move with ease. The small stairway to their raised bedroom was replaced with a slight ramp, and there were less traces of the frills that Fate was so fond of.

"Please, make yourself at home." Nanoha told her while going to the kitchen. "I'm sure you're hungry, I'll cook us something. "

"Ah, I'll handle it!" Fate stopped when Nanoha glanced over at her. "Oh... I'm sorry, that must have sounded weird to you."

Instead of commenting on that, Nanoha went back to inspecting her refrigerator. "We need to have something yummy to celebrate me meeting my best friend from another world. How does roast chicken sound to you?"

"Sounds wonderful."

"If I asked you to get some things from my pantry, would you know where to look?"

"Possibly," Fate went to the small pantry and opened the double doors there before picking up the containers. "Here, should I get the orange and butter as well?"

"Orange? For a chicken?"

Fate felt a small giggle come and she welcomed it gratefully. "Yes, you love orange chicken... May I?"

Nanoha nodded smiled. "Yes, please." watching the blonde move around her kitchen, she felt an odd feeling in her chest. "This is so weird, I can't even imagine what it's like for you."

"Its strange," Fate's motions slowed slightly but she picked back up almost at once. "Everything is the same but slightly different at the same time."

"You said we were really close."

Fate nodded and moved beside Nanoha to share the cutting work with her. "You're my wife."

"... I see." Blushing darkly, Nanoha glanced up at Fate. "How long have we been together?"

"A few years. We started dating when we were about fifteen or sixteen. I asked you to marry me and..." Fate chuckled lightly. "You fainted. Dead on the spot, it was so nerve wracking."

"Nyahaha, that sounds like me. Was our wedding pretty?"

"Very. Everyone was there..." Trailing off, she looked down at Nanoha again. "Speaking of, do you train Subaru?"

"Subaru-san? Oh yes, she's in my group. A little bit of a cry-baby but she's getting better."

"... Tea?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know a Tea. Is she in my group in your world?"

"Not anymore. Subaru, Tea, Erio, and Caro were your forwards."

"Forwards?" Nanoha pondered this while moving to preheat the oven. "I don't have any forwards here, just my standard group of fifteen."

"I see... I guess that makes sense." Fate tried to shake the feeling she was getting.

"So, Fate-chan, in your world, we're married and you said we had a daughter?"

"Yes."

"Adopted?"

Fate did stop this time. "...Yeah. She's adopted."

Nanoha flinched. "I'm sorry, did something happen?"

"No, never mind. Tell me about your day?"

Taking the change of topic in stride, Nanoha went on. "It was normal up until you came in. Woke up, started training students, had lunch, then met this really weird girl from another universe who says she's my wife."

"Sounds like a winner," Fate played along. "You should keep an eye on her."

"Make sure she doesn't hit on me." Nanoha stuck out her tongue, pleased at having someone to talk to for a change.

"And carry you up to the bedroom and raid the bottom drawer?" Her words made Nanoha physically recoil in shock, eyes wide and cheeks suddenly burning red. Fate blinked a moment before realization finally dawned on her. "Oh... Wow, that was a _really_ awkward thing to say."

"H-How did you... I mean..." Nanoha face palmed. "Married. Right."

"... I'm sorry." Fate shifted uneasily and averted her eyes to look at the food she was preparing.

"It's... It's okay." Nanoha moved around Fate to start preparing some side dishes while the blonde catered to preparing their main course. "Just... Wow, that's embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed, we both picked them out, so--"

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha almost shrieked. "That's even worse!"

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just... wow, this is awkward." The blonde put her hands on the counter and leaned on it slightly, eyes downcast.

Nanoha felt her ears burn. "Tell me some more about yourself? You seem to know everything about me but I don't know much of anything about you. Some wife I am, huh?" She laughed at the small joke.

"It's okay... Uhm, what do you want to know?"

"Everything... I want to know what my _wife_ is like." Nanoha said the word again, liking that she could use it in context, even I it was a joke.

Fate paused and turned to gaze down at the girl in the wheelchair next to her. Slate blue eyes were misted lightly, probably from the onion she was cutting. '_That's right... I was Nanoha's main support all those years... the one who never gave up on her, the one who always stood beside her... The one who loved her the most when she felt so alone, and understood without needing to hear anything..._'

"... My name is Fate Takamachi Harlaown. You took my last name and I changed my middle. I met you when we were nine..." Fate's story continued all throughout their cooking, even spilling over into their dinner together. Fate's words almost never paused, and the curious eyes of Nanoha begged for more every time she thought Fate would stop. As the time went by, they moved from the kitchen, to their dining table, to sitting on the couch together after Fate carefully carried Nanoha to it.

Finally, after several hours, Nanoha found herself hard pressed to stay awake despite wanting to know more. When the blonde noticed, she simply smiled and bent over to pick her up off the couch. Carrying her like a princess, she moved to the bedroom and saw Nanoha's wheelchair move on its own behind them. Laying the girl on the bed, she smiled down at her and simply said her goodnight before making a promise to meet her for breakfast the next day.

After leaving the room, Fate leaned against the door and sighed longingly. "Nanoha... I miss you so much."


	2. Chapter 2

I was awake before Bardiche rang out his alarm to tell me it was time to get up. In fact, I had spent the last little while staring at the ceiling of what I knew to be a forward's room. Nanoha had given me my room number and Hayate set it to accept me sometime last night while I was having dinner with my friend. Although they called it a "special room for important guests," I still couldn't help but feel awkward. Here I am, in my home base, laying in a bed that didn't belong to me. I was still slightly in shock from everything that had happened, but I knew that I had to put it behind me and look for a solution rather than mope around.

**Alternatives II  
By: Satashi**

Fate walked down the hallway leading to Nanoha's room briskly. Having being given clothes to wear, the blonde found herself in a standard base uniform that didn't fit quite right but still felt better than her dirty enforcer attire. When she made it to Nanoha's door, she stopped herself from just entering now that she was stored in the device via password, and instead knocked.

"Come in!" A perky voice called from inside. The door swished open and Fate looked around, spying Nanoha at her tiny kitchen. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"

"No, but I rested enough." Fate told the truth, which got her a look that was mixed between sympathy and amusement. "Did you sleep okay? You didn't wake up too early did you?" The blonde smelt the freshly baked biscuits and bacon before she saw the pan on the stove or light in the oven.

"I woke up on my own, don't worry." Nanoha waved her hand over her wheelchair control orb and went to the refrigerator. "How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled... mind if I join in?"

"Some hostess I am, letting my guest do all the work."

"I like cooking." Fate moved by Nanoha and started cracking shells. "You want yours over easy with extra pepper, cooked in the bacon grease right?"

"That's kind of creepy." Nanoha mused, not sure if she was enjoying this or was weirded out by it. "Tell me, how did I make the biscuits?"

"If you're referring to adding in honey, I know your mother taught you to do that when you were young."

Nanoha hummed and simply watched the girl cook. "I'd really like to meet me in your world. It must be nice having someone know so much about you."

"You're about the same, from what I can tell..."

Nanoha picked up on the sad tone at once. "...I'm sorry, I was being selfish. We'll get you back, don't worry. I'm sure Hayate-chan will want us to meet with her first thing this morning."

"What about your students?"

"Vita-chan can handle them for the morning lessons, this is more important. We have to get you registered while you are here so you won't be in trouble. Last night's battle will be covered by the civilian collaborator contract, but you need to be in the records for now on."

"Yeah..." Fate finished their breakfast while Nanoha removed the now cooked sides. "I just realized I won't have my rank anymore..." Her lips turned up into a small grin. "Should I salute you?" The joke made Nanoha giggle to herself and Fate took comfort in hearing the familiar sound.

Just as soon as the two sat down together, A beeping sound came from Nanoha's wheelchair. "Raising Heart, connect please." The command allowed a monitor to appear in front of the girl and Hayate's image formed on it almost instantly. "Good morning, Hayate-chan."

"Morning, Nanoha-chan." Hayate replied back in kind. "Could you please bring Fate-chan to my office this morning?"

"Already planning on it." Reaching up, she tiled the screen to show Fate was next to her. The blonde smiled and gave a small wave which was returned. "Do you have any idea on what could have put her here?"

Hayate shook her head. "I haven't had time to do anything other than talk to everyone in our room last night. Shamal seems to think she could have come through a dimensional rift, but the chances of that are so low it's hard to believe. Anyway, I have some people on it. For now, I need her signed as a collaborator before the T.S.A.B swoop in and try to have her recruited. Is that okay, Fate-chan?"

"Yes, that is fine." Fate nodded at the screen. "Nanoha was just telling me that."

"I see," Hayate looked back over at Nanoha. "Well then, enjoy your breakfast. I'll ask Vita to train your students today for you."

"Please." The two friends nodded at each other and the communication was cut off. "See? Hayate-chan is always on top of things."

"She is." The blonde agreed and a small bit of silence passed over them as they ate, interrupted only by Raising Heart's update on the weather, Nanoha's schedule, and the sounds of utensils tapping their plates.

Once breakfast was over, the two girls headed down out to take care of their business, stopping once they reached the front door. "Raising Heart wasn't kidding when she said high chances of rain today," Nanoha mused while looking out at the drizzling rain.

"Seems so," Fate brought up Bardiche and the device answered her silent call to allow an umbrella to form, casting a translucent yellow barrier above them. "Shall we?"

Nanoha gave Fate an amused look but still allowed girl to hold the shield over them both as they walked to the adjacent building. From there they went up to Hayate's office and the blonde found herself answering questions that both made her grin and sigh out at the same time. Once the paperwork was completed, Hayate gave a satisfied nod and began ushering them downstairs once more so they could go give Fate her official ranking test. Their trip was interrupted just moments after they left the main building by Lexus standing in front of them, an umbrella held over his head by none other than a reluctant looking Teana.

Lexus greeted them with a smirk and stepped forward to Fate, making Teana move along with him. "Hello there, Blondie. I did some research and it appeaser you aren't with the T.S.A.B. yet."

"I am a civilian collaborator, and don't call me Blondie." Fate frowned at him but still let her eyes drift to Teana for a brief moment.

"My assistant, Teana." Lexus pointed to the girl. "Not worth anything on the field but she's helpful when I need someone to carry something for me." His words made the girl with him bite down a growl. "Anyway, Hot Legs, why not join my battalion? I have much better resources then these clowns. What do you say?"

"My name is Fate." The woman stated firmly.

"Ooh, my destiny, I like that."

Nanoha chose that moment to interrupt. "Don't hit on my friends."

"Jealous I've never hit on you? Can't see what fun you'll be without moving your hips arou--" His words cut off when a palm connected firmly with his cheek.

"Do not address my friends in such a manner." Fate told him, voice going from her usual soft tone to holding a faint edge to it. "I won't tolerate anyone insulting people I care for."

Lexus licked his lips and looked at Fate with a new interest, left hand going to touch his slapped cheek. "I want you even more now. Have you taken your mage exam test yet?"

"I have not," Fate answered simply.

"Tell you what," stepping closer to her, he forced Teana to lean the umbrella to keep him dry, even though her back was now getting wet. "Let me review you. If I win, you join my battalion, in more ways than one."

Fate felt her body grow stiff, red tinting her cheeks when she realized what the last part meant. Despite this, she still didn't move from him, and answered back calmly. "When I win, that girl with you will join our battalion, and you will address Hayate and Nanoha by their ranks."

Lexus laughed loudly at her. "Well spoken! Fine then. Wingless, we will be using your training field. Let's go, Babe."

Fate nodded and began walking as well, ignoring the astonished look on Teana's face at her sudden involvement with people she didn't even know.

The training area, now free from its morning inhabitants, was quickly changed to form a fake city on it, leaving Fate standing on one building on the east side while Lexus was on the West. The blonde ran her thumb over Bardiche and felt her clothes shift and change around her before forming a barrier jacket to protect herself. '_I don't care if you harass me,_' she thought bitterly as a monitor came up in front of her, informing her of how the ranking test would work. '_But I will never forgive anyone who insults my family or friends._'

On the sidelines, Hayate stood with crossed arms. Monitors floated all around her and a firm frown was on her face. "This isn't what I had in mind for today."

Nanoha nodded lightly, moving her hands out to make sure all the necessary information would be recorded and documented. "He is a triple-A plus mage. Fate-chan said she was SS, but her performance last night would only suggest a double-A... Was she holding back so she could record for us?"

"... For her sake, I hope so..." Her eyes moved to look at Teana standing next to them. '_And why did she bet that that girl would be transferred to me...? I'm getting too laid-back in my old age._' Smirking at the inside joke, Hayate finally pushed the screen to confirm the battle to start. '_Good luck, Fate-chan._'

Fate looked out over the makeshift abandoned city from her position on top of a large office building. The screen by her stated that the test was now in progress and she gripped Bardiche a little tighter. "Bardiche?"

"Scan complete, sir." He spoke back calmly. "Enemy is across the field, coming at running speed. ETA is three minutes."

"How impatient, he should have waited for us to come to him." The blonde moved her hand out and placed several binding spells along the ground. "He isn't powerful enough to test us properly... Looks like we will have to be evaluated again once this is over."

"Sir," Bardiche's tone made Fate hesitate leaving the building. "Our situation is unusual; please do not be careless."

"...You're right." Fate lifted her hand once more and focused, forming several daggers of energy around herself. "As weird as everything has been, I cannot afford to be careless... Especially after he called Nanoha that."

"Yes sir."

Fate frowned to herself and leaped off the building, dropping down to the ground and darting forward. Lexus made it just as she expected and began dodging the springing traps, twisting and jumping through the yellow binds. When the last one sprung, his left leg was snared, making him look back in shock. Taking the opportunity, Fate engaged and swung her scythe down hard.

Lexus yelled as his barrier jacket ripped open and barely managed to block the next attack, leaving himself open for several yellow energy daggers to break his auto barrier. The male broke the bind on himself and jumped back, recollecting himself and staring at the blonde who didn't press her advantage. "What's the matter!? Scared you won't do as well after a surprise attack!?"

"Bardiche."

"Yes sir." The device was lifted and circles appeared around them, forming small darts of yellow energy that burst forth, triggering several trap spells that were placed as Lexus retreated.

"Che, you would be a smart one." Making a taunting motion, Lexus smirked at her. "I want you even more now. Tell you what, join me and I'll even let the whore come too."

"Sir." Bardiche's voice made the blonde stop before she lunged at him.

Taking a breath, Fate cooled down and spoke at the man again. "Why are you such a pervert?"

Lexus shrugged. "Guess it's in my DNA." Fate twirled Bardiche and walked in a half circle on the mostly-destroyed road. Lexus made the other half as they circled each other slowly. Their eyes met and each ran forward. Lexus reacted faster, drawing his device and pointing a gun at Fate and shooting. The magical bullet met its target and hit the blonde square in the chest before ripping through her back side. "What the--!?"

Fate appeared behind the man as her after-image faded away. After a small moment to charge the attack, her scythe slashed down, the blade pulsating larger than normal. As the man fell forward, Fate caught his collar and pulled him back so she could whisper into his ear firmly. "If you _ever_ look at my wife in a perverted manner again, I won't hold back." When her words were done she let go of him and allowed him to fall onto the ground defeated.

As monitors appeared around Fate, Lexus smirked to himself through the pain in his back. '_So, she does have a weakness...'_

~**~

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha's voice made the girl look up and smile at her.

The blonde walked up the ramp leading to the instructor observatory and stood next to Nanoha, red eyes scanning the video image feeds all around her. "Sorry for having to run earlier. Hayate needed me to fill out paperwork and schedule another testing time."

"No problem, she told me before she went to the field to get you. I had to deal with Teana's transfer anyway. Did you get an earful?"

Fate felt a small smile come to her face. "Yes, Hayate scolded me for making that deal and was going to turn it down but Lexus expelled Tea from his base."

"At least my work wasn't for nothing then. I already have her entered in my books."

Fate licked her lips as the screen came up. "Hey...can I ask a favor?"

"Mm?" Nanoha tapped the floating keyboards around herself to make the students training on the field have to swap tactics.

"Can you place Tea with Subaru?"

"Why?" Nanoha looked over at Fate curiously. "That would be a very awkward and inconvenient move for all of our parts. Subaru is a close combat mage while Teana seems to use a pistol. I need to consider Teana's qualities before I transfer away from where I placed her."

"...Please?"

Nanoha blinked and looked up at Fate once more. "...Why?"

"It's just... in my time, they were forwards... placed directly under your personal training. They improved more than anyone I've ever seen and... well, Tea is my partner when I go on long distance missions."

Nanoha leaned back in her wheelchair and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "The C-ranked mage you forced on me is now suddenly one of my best students who runs with an SS ranked mage?"

"Yes."

"Hayate-chan was right; you're really annoying." With a groan, Nanoha glanced up at Fate before typing on her keyboards again. "However, your request will _really_ throw me off. I can't justify this, it just doesn't make any sense."

Fate leaned against the guard rail and looked out over the training field with distant eyes. "I know the feeling."

The blue eyed girl stayed silent for a long moment before heaving out a long sigh. "Hayate-chan is going to yell at me for this."

"Thank you. I will train them myself."

"Nooooo, you're a civilian collaborator, not an instructor. Jeez, does the other Nanoha have to keep you on a leash as well?"

Fate smirked, a playful tint coming to her eyes as she turned to look over her shoulder. "Yes, yes she does."

'_What have I gotten into?_' Nanoha thought while tapping away on her keyboards. '_I was fine with it when she was just affecting me, but now she's barged into my work and... Maybe Hayate-chan was right; maybe she is here to throw us off balance for some reason..._' Eying the blonde looking out over the field, she felt a small tear at her heart. '_But nobody can pretend to be that sad and confused... Even with that smile on her face, I can tell that she is about to cry. Just like that girl so long ago, her feelings pour out through her eyes... as if she's screaming for help but can't form the words..._'

"You're sighing an awful lot today," Fate told her softly before turning around completely to sit against the railing. "I'm sorry for being so selfish."

"No... I just... I don't know." Nanoha shook her head. "Fate-chan, I'm sorry but can we meet up later? I need to focus on my students."

"Yes, I'm sorry." Fate's tone turned sad almost at once.

'_Aw, she probably came to me because she felt alone..._' Before Nanoha could speak up again a new voice called the blonde's attention.

"Fate." Signum walked to the bottom of the ramp and met the girl's eyes. "I need you to come with me for a moment."

"Okay." walking down ramp, she gave Signum a curious look. "What is it, Signum?"

Signum stopped to get a drink from a vending machine and waved her device over it again, putting in enough credits for Fate to get one as well. "Mistress Hayate requested for me to accompany you to the bank to set up an account, as well as try and get some more information from you regarding your situation."

Fate picked her drink and smiled while bending over to get it. "You don't trust me."

"I don't."

"I understand." Fate fell into step beside her and walked along the sidewalk. "Later... Let's have a sparring match."

"Why?" Signum eyed her without turning her head.

"Because you and I both can feel someone's emotions when fighting them."

"How do you know that?"

"Because..." Fate whispered softly. "You're my role model. The one I always looked up to and sought advice from."

"... Fine, we will spar later."

"Thank you, Signum."

"Don't thank me yet." A small giggle made her look at Fate curiously. "What?"

"I'm just relieved... Everyone is the same."

"...We can get lunch while we're out too."

"Thank you."

~**~

"That was awkward." The understatement made Signum repress the urge to scoff at the blond trailing her. "I'm sorry, really."

"You could have at least come up with a story before we got inside the bank." Signum spoke back flatly, clearly annoyed at the embarrassing act. "I thought Hayate and you would have surely discussed what you would put down on the paper. I'm sure Nanoha is thrilled."

"I can't help it, it was instinct!"

"Writing down that you are married and live with the top instructor on this planet isn't something that comes as instinct. You're lucky Nanoha played along with it. I'm sure you saw how embarrassed she was."

"...Yes." Fate sighed and sat in Signum's sports car, closing the door almost too softly to latch. "I've caused so much trouble since I showed up... I really don't know how to apologize for it all."

"Start by thinking more." Signum started the engine and looked over her shoulder to back out of the parking space. "Am I really your role model? I expected better."

"...You don't have to rub it in." Fate's tone made the older woman exhale a defeated breath.

"Okay... Okay, I apologize for getting upset. Don't get all whiny on me... How do I normally deal with you when you do this?"

"Honestly?" Fate inhaled deeply to calm herself down. "You ruffle my hair and tell me to get over it. If it's really bad, you'll hold me and kiss my forehead."

"I wouldn't be caught kissing someone's forehead."

"I know." Fate felt a little of her energy come back. "You always hide the fact that you do it. Not even Vita knows, and you do it to her too."

Signum stiffened slightly. "That's very creepy; knowing things about me that I do not wish you to is extremely unnerving."

"Yeah," Fate looked out the window. "I've been getting that all day. No matter how casual I try to be, it still freaks people out when I talk like I've known them forever... Tell me, Signum... If you were in my place, how would you handle it?"

The swordsman hesitated in her response, rolling the question over in her head as she drove them down the roads in the capital city. Finally, after contemplating it for several long moments, she answered. "I would tell you something that there was no way you could know unless we were as close as you say. Having people support you and take you seriously without doubt would be the best way to stay stable."

Fate nodded. "This is embarrassing."

"Say it."

"You have a cosplay fetish, and Shamal dresses you up when you make love. Hayate makes them for you, and you pose in them to satisfy her and not let her know what you two do with them... Also, you--"

"Okay!" Signum interrupted her, cheeks splashed red. "Did you _have_ to pick something sexual? Why not say something simple like--"

"You have a mole on your inner thigh that looks like a star? Because anyone who bathes with you would know that."

"...You impress me." Signum nodded to herself. "But might I ask... How did you get that information?"

Fate grimaced. "When we were younger I caught you two doing it several times but I never understood it until after Nanoha and I made love the first time when we were sixteen... I couldn't look at you in the face for weeks."

"So we don't...?"

"No!" Fate almost shrieked, blushing herself now. "I'm dedicated to Nanoha! Fully!"

"Good..." Signum felt a small grin come to her face. "Well then, Fate, how do you feel now?"

"...Better." Looking at her lap, she played with her fingers. "I'm sure you will understand more when we spar tonight but... I'm glad you gave me a chance. I don't like it when you don't trust me."

"We'll discuss that topic more over lunch; where do you want to eat?"

"Well Fuji's will open soon, so--"

"Fuji's?"

"Yes?" Fate thought about the bar. "Oh... That's right; I directly had an impact on that place... Since Nanoha isn't an Ace and I wasn't there to find it... Kuhn couldn't have opened his bar." Groaning, the blonde leaned back in her seat. "I don't know then, you pick."

"Okay." The woman flicked her wrist and flicked on the car's blinker, moving over to take a turn. "I know a good place."

~**~

Hayate looked up from her monitor when a knock came at her office door. "Come in." Her words granted Fate access and she smiled at the woman walking up to her. "Ah, special collaborator Fate." Standing, she walked over to the front of her desk and saluted. "Allow me to officially welcome you to my base."

"Thank you," Fate saluted back before getting casual. "I'll do anything I can to help while I'm here. Thank you again for helping me as well." She gave a small bow to show her appreciation as well.

"I have people on your case already, investigating where you woke up and searching for anything that could be related. We don't have much to work with so the best I can say is that I'll contact you the moment we find out anything."

"Thank you." Fate smiled lightly. "I really appreciate this, Hayate."

The shorter girl leaned forward, inspecting the cut on Fate's cheek. "What happened to you?"

"Signum got a lick in." Rubbing the spot lightly, she smiled. "We had a little sparring match."

"As long as you didn't get hurt. Do you need to go to Shamal?"

Fate shook her head. "I just need a bath. By the way, could I get a small advance on my pay? I need to buy a few things while I'm here."

"I'm sorry, but you're only stationed here; I don't have any control over you except for your duties. Your pay comes from the T.S.A.B directly. I can loan you some of mine though."

"Ah, I'd feel bad... Maybe I can just borrow some clothes from Nanoha until I get my first check."

"If you change your mind, don't hesitate. By the way, did you really put down Nanoha as your wife on the bank application?" The embarrassed look on the girl's face made Hayate put a hand on her hip. "I'm sure Nanoha won't mind, but please don't get her upset okay?"

"I won't."

"Nanoha is... very weird in that area." Hayate thought about how to word what she was thinking. "All the time growing up she felt like she wasn't part of her family. Same with the time I've known her as well. People love her, I love her, but she has never truly _felt_ love before. You know what I mean?"

"She desperately wants someone to be _in_ love with her. I know, she was like that with me as well."

"But you were there... you weren't for my Nanoha. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Fate nodded. "I love my Nanoha. I would never cheat on her, even if its with the same girl in another time line. She is Nanoha, but she's not _my_ Nanoha."

Hayate smiled and gave a relieved chuckle. "Thank you, that makes me feel so much better. I was worried that when you left... it might hurt her."

Fate started walking with Hayate as she closed down her office and walked towards the door. "Don't worry, I don't think she'd fall for me that easily. Nanoha and I danced around each other for years before we started dating. In fact, it was you who brought us together."

"Really?" She tilted her head curiously.

"It was at a sleep over, you dared her to ask out her crush to the dance at school. You got her phone and called her crush and... my phone rang. I remember looking at it and slowly picking it up. I brought it to my ear and looked at Nanoha, who quickly turned away from me and looked down at her lap... Then she meekly told me hello and asked if I had a date yet. It was the cutest thing you would have ever seen. I thought she would pass out, her ears were so red."

With a giggle, Hayate shook her head. "That would be so amusing. Nanoha is so independent it is hard to imagine her all shy and blushy."

"Blushy? Is that a word?"

"It's a technical term." Hayate smiled as they walked to the residential area. "Nanoha normally takes a bath in her room so I'm sure she won't mind you taking one there as well. She doesn't like people offering to help her, gets really touchy about it."

"Sounds like her."

"I know, right? One time I offered to carry her to the bathtub and she got really upset. She never lets anyone carry her anywhere; it's like her pet peeve."

"Really?" Fate stopped walking and looked at her with a confused look. "I carried her to bed last night and she seemed rather pleased."

"You carried her?" Hayate shook her head. "No, no, nobody carries Nanoha. They would lose their arms."

Fate scratched her head before placing her hand on her hip. "Odd, maybe she was just too tired to say anything."

"Must have been being polite," Hayate agreed. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," Fate nodded and left the elevator once it was on her floor. The short walk was made and she found herself standing in front of Nanoha's door. '_I hope she isn't upset about earlier..._' Taking a breath to steady herself, Fate knocked on the door leading into Nanoha's loft. A call from inside bade her enter and she made her way into the overly-large room. "I'm back," she called testingly, seeing Nanoha move over from behind the kitchen cabinets and face her.

"Welcome back," Nanoha smiled in greeting "So, you're registered here, Miss Takamachi?"

"I... didn't mean for it to turn out that way. I'm sorry..."

"I don't mind." Nanoha mused, turning her chair around and going back to the kitchen to finish preparing her drink. "You could have told me beforehand, though. I was contacted in front of all my students as I was dismissing them. Now they're all asking me weird questions."

"I'm sorry..." Fate looked down.

"Don't get all pouty on me. Like I said, I don't mind. I'm your wife after all; that's kind of neat. I've never even been on a date and now I have a wife. I should call my parents."

"Nanoha!" Fate felt herself blushing, a fact that the girl didn't miss. "A-anyway, um..."

"Make yourself at home. Want anything to eat or drink?"

"Uhm, a drink would be nice."

Nanoha smiled. "What would you like?"

"Don't suppose you have scotch?" The girl cocked an eyebrow at her. "I don't drink often, but I could use something to mellow me down right now."

"Sorry, don't have any. I have some frozen daiquiri mix and some rum?"

"Thanks but I can't handle the sweetness." Fate moved to the large couch and fell down on it.

Nanoha moved over to her and lifted her arms. The wheelchair shifted and two bars came out for her to grab, allowing the girl to easily move so she was sitting on the couch as well. "So," Once she was set, the wheelchair moved away from them. "Other than looking like a nervous wreck, how was your day?"

"Bad... Good... I'm not sure." Looking down, Fate moved her hands out in a helpless gesture. "I mean, everything is going okay and my day wasn't really that bad, it's just..."

"You're not where you want to be."

"Yeah... which is weird, because this is exactly where I want to be."

"Tell me," Nanoha picked up a pillow from the couch and sat it on her lap. "What do I normally do when you're upset?"

"Rub my back and make advances on me." Fate smiled at the thought. "You're really physical. I remember you telling me that you couldn't express how you felt with words so you tried to do it in a way that would show me."

"Wow, that's interesting." Nanoha leaned forward to make Fate look at her. "So a massage?"

"I-- I couldn't--"

"Its okay, you're my wife after all." Nanoha laughed at the statement. "That's so weird to say, I like it. Come on, lets go upstairs and I'll rub your back. Its the least I can do for you fighting for me this morning. Besides, I heard what you said to Lexus."

"A-Ah, that was... Just instinct."

Nanoha smiled more, asking a question fondly. "Am I always in your instinct?"

"...Yeah, you could say that. Not a day goes by without me thinking about Nanoha."

The girl leaned to Fate more. "Then let me help you out for a change. Lets' go upstairs... Carry me?"

Fate hesitated, blinking at the innocent eyes gazing at her. "Okay." Nanoha held out her arms and wrapped them around Fate's neck when the blonde shifted to slide hers under Nanoha's body. With ease, Fate lifted her up and stood, walking around the coffee table to avoid the girl's wheelchair. '_But Hayate told me..._'

Nanoha leaned against Fate briefly before wrinkling her nose and pulling back. "Ew, you stink."

"I didn't have time to shower after my session with Signum," the blonde mused lightly. "I was hoping you would let me take a shower, as well as borrow some clothes until I can buy some for myself?"

"Sure, I don't mind." Nanoha felt herself being sat on the bed and she placed her arms behind herself to prop up. "Should I tell you where I keep my clothes?"

"Well, considering we split our drawers and closet and agreed on where to place them, I'm not sure. But then again, you kept the other stuff in that drawer, so I'm assuming nightgowns in here." Fate opened the top drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a pink button up. "I don't suppose you took interest in nighties did you?"

"They reveal too much." Nanoha replied simply.

"But you like showing off." She got a curious look and a blush. "Ah, you see, the Nanoha I know always... flashes..."

"I flash people!?"

"Not that much! Just like... short skirts and stuff..." Fate scratched her cheek. "It really makes me frantic... you told me you do it just to see me blush most of the time."

"...Most?"

Fate looked away. "Sure you're not uncomfortable?"

Picking up on the shy tone, Nanoha leaned forward with a grin and looped her hands under her knees to pull them up so her feet were on the bed and so she could rest her chin on her knees while holding them. "Is that why you got so upset about Lexus talking to me like that?"

"...Yeah, I'm.. just really protective... not really the best thing in the world when courting an exhibitionist." Fate flushed and shook her head. "I shouldn't--"

"Tell me more." Nanoha's words made Fate look back at her with a shocked expression. The girl on the bed simply smiled, eyes not wavering. "We're close enough to have sex, right? What is it like? What am I like?"

"Y-you're..." Fate stammered, closing the drawer and opening the one under it, getting a pair of sweatpants. "Its... I dunno... just..."

"You're really shy, aren't you?"

"...Yes, please don't tease me like this."

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" Nanoha giggled to herself. '_No wonder my other self does that, she looks so adorable when she's stammering_.' After letting the girl frantically try to think of something to say for a few moments, Nanoha continued. "So... Fate-chan?"

"Y-yes...?"

"If I wore a short skirt tomorrow... would you protect me?" Resting her cheek on her knee now, Nanoha simply looked up at the girl for an answer.

"D-don't say silly things." Fate finished raiding the drawer for clothes and made her way to the bathroom and the connected shower. "I'll be out in a bit, okay?"

"I'll be waiting." Nanoha watched her new friend close the bathroom door with a smile on her lips. '_How interesting..._' Reaching over to Fate's discarded enforcer outfit, she placed it over her shoulders to get a little warmth. "Raising Heart, can you turn up the temperature two degrees?" The orb on her wheelchair flashed and confirmed the action. "Hmmm..." The though was vocalized as the sounds of the shower sprang to life behind her. '_She's such a cute girl, and very possessive._'

Closing her eyes, Nanoha allowed herself to fall to the side, plopping down on the bed while still hugging her knees. '_The other me is so brave... but then again, if it meant having someone honestly get flustered over me then..._' An honest smile came to her lips. '_Someone getting protective because I belong to them... Wanting nobody else to see what is theirs._' A giddy laugh came from her as she thought about it. '_I'd love to see that. Just hearing her say that to Lexus today made me feel warm... And her claiming me as her wife..._'

Rolling onto her back, Nanoha looked up at the ceiling with her arms spread out. '_I've always wanted someone to do that for me. To honestly be interested in me, to ask me how my day was all the time and not get bored of hearing the same stories..._' Looking up at the white ceiling, Nanoha listened to the sounds of water hitting the shower floor. '_Fate-chan knows everything about me, even my most embarrassing things. She's seen me naked, made love to me, and still smiles that way whenever my name is mentioned._'

Letting her head fall to the side, Nanoha looked at her nightstand. '_I've wanted to have this feeling for as long as I can remember... To be gazed at with love and acceptance... To be told I mean the most in their life._' Pushing herself up, she scooted so she could move her legs off the bed and sit by her drawer, opening it up and rooting around until she found a see-through white bra. '_If I put this on... would she look at me like that?_' She ran the lacy fabric over between her thumb and forefinger. '_For some reason, I feel shy... like her seeing my body would make me really embarrassed... Is that what it's like when wanting someone else to see you like that? This feeling... of excitement and happiness?_'

Looking at the undergarment for a while longer, Nanoha shook her head and put it back into the drawer. '_I can't... My heart is beating so fast._' Holding her hands together over her chest, she stared at the floor with a dark blush. '_I want her to see me in it but... I don't. I'm scared she may not find me attractive... but I know she does! It's not fair, she knows me inside and out but know so little about her!_'

Nanoha frowned and laid back on the bed once more. '_I want to know her more...I want to understand her like she does me... I want... I want her to refer to ME when she speaks my name._' A firm nod came at the thoughts. '_I was sent an angel out of nowhere, and I don't want to let this opportunity pass._' Gripping the enforcer jacket that fell off her shoulders, she moved it to become a makeshift blanket over her. '_She was sent here for a reason...I want that reason to be me._' Hugging herself, Nanoha closed her eyes happily as the water cut off from the bathroom. '_This is the feeling I've longed for, for so long._'

Nanoha looked over at Fate as the door opened, smiling to herself as the blonde walked into her bedroom. Slightly damp hair was still being dried and the black tank top Fate had picked out lightly flashed her stomach as her hands fussed with her hair. A pair of matching black shorts were claimed as well, completing Fate's evening wear. "You look nice in that," Nanoha said honestly. "You like black, don't you?"

"Black, purple, and gold, my three favorite colors." Sitting on the bed, Fate went about combing her hair with the brush she had nicked from the bathroom. "If you're cold, you should adjust your heat or you may get sick."

"I did, it just takes a moment for it to happen. Besides, I like your jacket, it's nice." The girl smiled innocently. "Enjoy your shower?"

"Yes, thank you. I needed one after today." Fate continued to mess with her hair until it was tangle-free, then pulled it into a ponytail to stay out of her way until it dried completely. "What time is it?"

"A little past nine."

"Shouldn't you be doing your evaluations for today? Don't let me keep you."

"I had to take care of it earlier when I transferred Teana into Subaru's room. Turns out they trained together for a while. I accepted Subaru after she failed her B-rank mage test. Teana was accepted into Lexus' base as a low-level cadet as well. She has been doing odd jobs around the base, but not much actual combat or training." Giving a light sigh, she shook her head. "This is going to be such a headache."

"I can help." The blonde shifted so she was sitting next to Nanoha. "I know I'm not an instructor, but I can still assist you. It's not like I have anything else to do. Go over tomorrow's training plan with me, I can be on the field as you instruct."

"Do you normally help me out training?" Nanoha stretched out her upper half before moving to a sitting position with her legs out in front of her.

Fate glanced at Nanoha's legs before shaking her head. "No, I only sometimes go on the field. Maybe once a week or so for special training or a demonstration. Generally I'm too busy doing my office work or making rounds..." Looking at her friend, she finally let out a small sigh. "Can I ask something tasteless?"

"Go ahead." Nanoha leaned her hands behind herself and braced on them. "I know what you're going to ask anyway."

"... How are your legs? Is it painful?" Not being able to help herself, she traced a finger along Nanoha's left shin. "I'm sorry, but it's so sad seeing you in a wheelchair..."

The girl gave a small giggle at the questions. "No, no, no pain. I've been like this for several years now so it's just common place now. Besides, I have this entire room customized just for me. All my shelves are the right height, and Raising Heart was incorporated into my Smart Chair. She can change shape to fit my needs, allowing me to do anything from easily getting from my chair to couch, bed, or even from the ground to my chair. She can move very fast, which is always fun to do. Honestly, it's not much different from walking. Mid's handicap laws are a lot better than Earth's and the technology is so great, it's not really a hindrance at all. Besides..." Nanoha leaned forward and ran her hands down her legs, purposely catching Fate's finger between two of hers. "I got like this from magical damage, not physical. I still have active nerves in my legs, so I can feel everything just like normal; I just can't move my muscles."

"I...see." Fate thought about this while Nanoha played with her finger. "That makes me feel a little better." Her red eyes looked at the hand teasing her finger by running hers along it. "You're just like her."

"I _am_ her," Nanoha countered simply with a smile, tugging on Fate's finger playfully. "I owe you a back rub."

"Ah, you don't have to--"

"Really, come on." Nanoha pulled on the finger between hers a few times, urging Fate to move closer to her. "On your stomach." She watched Fate reluctantly lay down and shifted herself so she was sitting beside her friend. Palms pressing against Fate's back, she began to contently rub. "Sorry, I'm not very good at this. If I press too hard let me know."

"I like it hard." Fate mumbled down into her pillow. "I'm weird like that."

"I see," Nanoha pressed down a little harder, getting an almost instant sound of pleasure. "Hey, Fate-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Tell me more about yourself."

"Like what?" Fate rested her cheek on a pillow and closed her eyes.

"What do you like?"

"Mm?"

"Like..." Nanoha thought about how to expand on her question. "Your favorite food?"

"Roast chicken."

"Drink?"

", on ice in a glass only. Scotch on the rocks for alcoholic."

"Clothes?"

Fate chuckled. "You're an inquisitive little thing tonight." The hands on her back pressed down and ran up her spine, making her almost fall asleep while answering. "Anything black. I like skirts, stockings and pantyhose. Denim is nice, and if I can get away with it, shoulderless, fuzzy shirts."

"Shoulderless?" Nanoha hummed. "And you say you don't like me being revealing?"

"You're different..." Fate yawned, moving her hands under the pillow and getting comfortable.

"Underclothes?"

"Black and lacy...I like frills." Fate started to mumble as Nanoha went to her shoulders.

The girl sitting on the bed smiled to herself, watching Fate's sleepy face slowly start to drift off as she rubbed. '_Well, now I know what clothes to buy you while you're here... It's not much, but it's a start. I can make a run to town during lunch and have Vita cover for me if I'm a little late, she'll understand._' Several minutes passed by in silence before Nanoha heard soft snoring sounds. Her hands paused and she curiously leaned over to look at Fate, smiling happily at the cute sounds she was making. '_She's adorable when she's asleep... Well, sleep sweet, Fate-chan._' With that, she pet Fate's back twice before carefully shifting to get in her wheelchair, then pulled the covers over the girl.


	3. Chapter 3

I awoke with a start, eyes snapping open as I felt an arm snake around my side. There was movement behind me and I almost grabbed the hand moving up my front to break its fingers before I remembered that Fate-chan had fallen asleep in my bed. Although I was content to sleep on the couch, I ended up thinking the bed would be big enough for both of us, and thus I had simply claimed the left side as my own while letting her sleep. Now Fate was behind me and my breath caught in my throat as her hand slipped in between the snap together buttons on my night shirt. I felt her palm touch my stomach and slide upwards, popping the catches loose as it went up. '_Wait!_' my mind was functioning but my body wasn't listening. I could feel Fate's other arm slide under my pillow and her breathing against my hair. Her leg slid between mine and bent at the knee, raising upwards until I let out a small squeak at the feeling. '_St...stop, I'm not ready!_' My mouth wouldn't open and my heart was thumping hard in my chest, right under the palm that was pressing on me enough to be considered a loose hug. The movement slowed down until it stopped altogether, Fate's gentle snoring now being muffled by my hair. I still couldn't seem to move my body, however, and I stared across my bed with wide eyes and a pounding heart while being embraced from behind. '_I'm... scared to move._'

**AlternativeS III  
By: Satashi**

Nanoha gazed over the pink and white pillow her cheek was resting on and watched the sun rise through the extra-large windows that made up most of one wall. Fate was still asleep behind her, breathing peacefully against her hair in a steady rhythm. Just as the sun's rays started to creep onto her bed, the radio on her nightstand cut on to deliver the sounds of a popular song.

Fate groaned at the noise and shifted as she tried to wake up. "Few more minutes..." Her request was mumbled lightly while stretching out. The brown haired girl suddenly found it easier to breathe as the hand went away from her chest. The warm body behind her moved and rolled over onto her back, allowing Nanoha to sit up and look down at the girl. "I was sleeping so well, too..." Red eyes struggled to open as the blonde sat up as well, looking over at Nanoha with a glazed expression.

"Ah, g-good morning." Nanoha managed out, hand going to grip both sides of her nightshirt to close it enough to snap together. "You can go back to sleep, you don't have to get up this early."

Fate looked at the girl blankly before sighing out. "For a moment, I thought..." Her sentence trailed, eyes looking away.

"...I'm sorry." Nanoha felt a small pain in her chest. "I... thought you would like to sleep in this bed. I- I was going to sleep on the couch but thought the bed was large enough to..."

Realization dawned on the blonde's face. "I have really bad sleeping habits. I'm sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?"

"N-no!" Nanoha lied frantically, waving her hands. "I didn't even realize it until I woke up! Uhm, I-I'm going to get dressed now, you can go back to sleep."

"Eh? No, I promised I would help you train remember?" Fate moved so she could crawl off the bed and stood up in a long stretch, revealing her toned stomach as the tank top rode upwards. "I don't have spare uniforms to wear so I guess I'll put on the standard 6th Division one Hayate gave me... I don't think it would be wise to walk around in my enforcer outfit when I don't hold the rank displayed."

Nanoha watched the girl move to the closet and open it, taking out both of their clothes. "Um, thank you."

"At the risk of sounding rude, would you like help getting dressed?" The blonde smiled happily, offering the clothes to Nanoha.

"N-No!" Nanoha shook her head, blushing hard. "I can get dressed!"

"Ah, okay." Fate nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry, I'll just go change in the bathroom, okay?" Giving a small wave over her shoulder, Fate turned to go on her way.

The girl on the bed opened her mouth to protest but the memory of Fate's palm on her chest made her stutter out incoherently and allow the blonde to leave. '_Oh wow... I haven't been this embarrassed since...I don't know when._' Turning on the bed, she gripped the bars offered to her by Raising Heart and moved into her chair. '_I've never been held like that before... I don't think I slept more than an hour the entire night._' A light sigh came as she opened a drawer to get a change of underclothes.

Nanoha's hand paused over the garments, a thought running through her mind that made her ears turn a light shade of red. '_I'm still so excited about Fate-chan paying so much attention to me... The way she held me so casually while she slept, is that what it's like to fully trust in someone? I wonder..._' Before she could change her mind, Nanoha shifted through the drawer and found a bright, neon pink pair of panties to put on. Wheeling herself to her closet, she opened a drawer and shifted through her old skirts, finding one that she wore when she was a little younger and not quite as tall. '_I feel so dirty all of a sudden._' The though made her giggle while changing clothes, getting situated just as Fate came back into the bedroom.

"About ready?" The blonde asked lightly while smoothing out her skirt and double checking her pantyhose.

"Ready, just need to do my hair." Nanoha got a hair band and began to scoop up the mess of hair to pull up before Fate popped her hands lightly, making her let the brown hair drop.

Fate picked up a brush from the nightstand and moved behind Nanoha, making the girl give up control of her hair and quickly started combing it for her. "I swear, you really need to take better care of your hair; you'll get split ends if you don't brush it properly." After being allowed to treat the tangled mess, Fate brought it up and combed the strands back to make a perfectly centered cheerleader-style high ponytail. "There, perfect."

"I feel lopsided," Nanoha complained slightly, looking in the mirror and seeing the hairstyle.

"Because the side of your head weighs so much you have to balance it out with a mop of hair." Fate smiled at her joke and moved to push Nanoha's chair before realizing that there were no handlebars there. "Ready now then?"

"Yes," Nanoha moved her palm over Raising Heart and glided down the ramp leading to the ground floor. "And we still have time to get there before everyone else."

As the two made their way out of the building and to the training field, Fate inhaled the crisp morning air deeply. "One thing that doesn't change is the tranquility of the morning."

"Yeah." Nanoha nodded in agreement.

Fate hummed to herself as they passed the few people that were out so early and wondered why they all looked away from them. "I wonder what's wrong?"

"What?"

"Everyone we pass looks down at you then glances away."

"I have no idea." Nanoha almost sang the words before stopping to turn to face Fate. "What do you think?"

Fate glanced down and almost did a double take. "N-Nanoha!"

"Yes?" She tilted her head to the side lightly.

Fate leaned down to her and whispered to her frantically. "Your skirt is too short, you can see your panties!"

"So?" Nanoha smiled cutely up at her.

"But... but...!" The blonde stammered back in shock, unsure of what she just heard.

"Fate-chan won't let anyone look." Nanoha reached up and touched Fate's nose in an open flirt. "So I can wear this small skirt, right?"

"N...No! No you can't!"

"Why?" Nanoha tilted her head lightly and gave her best innocent eyes. "A little peek never hurt anyone."

"Because!" Fate shook her head. "I don't want... You just... Don't!"

Nanoha smiled brightly, eyes shining with happiness. With that, she turned and began moving again, smiling even more as Fate suddenly began walking in front of her. '_I don't think I will ever get tired of this feeling._' Her palm snapped back on her control orb when Fate stopped walking, forcing her to come to a sharp halt. "Fate-chan, don't stop so suddenly." Moving around her, she looked at what made the blonde hesitate. "Well I'll be. Teana and Subaru are already practicing."

Fate looked at her watch and smiled to herself. "In my world your training session starts as soon as they get to the field, regardless if you are there or not. Those two took it upon themselves to make the most of their time, not because they are supposed to, but because they both desire something."

"What's that?"

Fate began walking again, subconsciously shifting in front of Nanoha again. "Teana has a goal of being recognized. She wants everyone to know what a Lanster is capable of. Subaru..." The girl hesitated with her words. "In my world, she idolized you because you showed her how to be strong... However, I don't think you could have been there when that happened..."

"I met Subaru a long time ago," Nanoha revealed as she went to her instructor's podium near the field. "She had her arm broken after being in an airport that was on fire. Poor thing was seriously hurt..." Nanoha looked over at Fate with a questioning glance.

"I know she's a cyborg."

"Ah. Then you'll understand. I heard her crying as I was visiting someone else in the hospital. I felt like I needed to help the small girl, even if I didn't know her. When I went in, she tried to hide, thinking I would consider her a freak if I saw her exposed wires. She was older than I thought she was, but she was crying so hard I felt as if she needed more of a talking to rather than pampering. I stayed and talked with her for a few hours, listening to her story and in turn sharing mine." She patted her legs to imply which story it was. "When it was over, she said she was amazed I didn't give up being in the military. When I told her I would never give up on something that meant a lot to me and my friends, she seemed really awed. I told her if she took that path like her family did, I would personally train her and... well, here she is."

Fate felt a small bit of contentment in her chest at hearing the story. "Good, it's nice to know some things still work out okay. Tell you what, I'll head to the field and play with them. Would you mind setting up something for us?"

"Sure," Nanoha brought up her monitors with the help of Raising Heart. "What would you like?"

* * *

Hayate looked up from her desk when a knock at her door came. "Come in," she saiaddressed curiously. When Fate walked into the room she smiled and stood to greet her. "Hello, Fate-chan."

"Hey," Fate saluted the girl. "Nanoha said she had some things to take care of so I thought you might want to get lunch together. Do you have time?"

"Certainly." Hayate reached back to get the purse from her desk. "Where did Nanoha-chan run off to?"

Together, the two made their way to the door. "She said something about needing to shop in town. I offered to go with her but she insisted to go alone."

Hayate glanced over at her new friend as they rode the elevator down to the first floor. "Your tone seems a little...miffed. Did something happen?" When the blonde looked away, Hayate was about to say never mind, but when the small hints of a blush came along with fidgeting, she pressed on. "Seems like an interesting story."

"How do you always know when things are interesting?"

"Sixth sense, get used to it. So tell me, what makes the girl from another dimension upset at my little Nanoha-chan?"

Fate waited until they were outside the building and heading to the parking lot nearby before answering. "It's silly." Her weak attempt at not explaining was deflected almost at once, leaving her no choice but to go on. "It's just that... Nanoha is purposely riling me up today."

Hayate unlocked her car and looked over the top of it. "Nanoha-chan? Purposely upsetting someone? Sounds a little weird to me." The two got in and closed the doors before getting comfortable. "What is she doing?"

"Well... Yesterday I made a comment that my Nanoha is a little...well... she's not exactly shy of her body. She likes to flaunt it, mostly in short skirts and letting people catch little glimpses of her underclothes. Anyway, your Nanoha seemed embarrassed at first but I told her how it always made me so frustrated, trying to make sure nobody saw my wife, you know?" Propping her chin up on her palm, Fate stared out the passenger side window as her friend drove them into town. "Today she wore bright flashy panties and a skirt that is so short it's really perverse. You can see her plain as day and she took every opportunity she had to make me stand in front of her."

Hayate took a moment to let this soak in, blinking several times as she tried to absorb this information. "Wait, so Nanoha-chan... Is purposely flashing people?"

"Just to make me get embarrassed," Fate finished the thought for her.

"Because you told her that's what your Nanoha did?"

"...I guess it makes the most sense. She told me that she knew I wouldn't let anyone see her, so... I mean, I know it's none of my business, but she's still Nanoha, even if she's not _my_ Nanoha, you know? I can't just... let someone see her."

"I see..." Hayate sighed out. "She seems to have taken a liking to you."

"...Yeah."

Hayate looked over at the blonde before turning her attention back to the road. "Should I talk with her about it?"

Fate didn't answer for a long time, rolling the question over her head and all the possibilities it could hold. After a while, she finally replied with what she thought was best. "We probably shouldn't worry about it; I won't be here for too much longer, hopefully, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"My boyfriend agreed to help us figure this out--"

"Boyfriend!?" Fate looked at her in shock.

"...Do I not have one in your world?"

"Well, you dance around with Yuuno but--" When Hayate grinned at her, Fate felt a bit of pride in her chest for the girl. "Well I'll be. I wonder how me not being here affected that."

"Not sure, but he's very interested in you. I'm sure we will get you home."

"...Thanks, that means a lot." The two shared a pleased look before turning to gaze back out the window and listen to the soft music playing in the car.

* * *

Nanoha hummed happily to herself as she placed a bag of clothes on her bed. '_I got Fate-chan enough to last her a while; I hope she likes them all._' Taking out the garments, she held up her choices again. A few shirts that were light enough to be worn in the summer but still warm enough to last through the changing seasons they were going through. A few skirts were placed on the bed as well, followed by underclothes that she hoped would fit the girl's ample chest. '_Well she did say she liked black so at least it was easy to match things up._' Her attention turned when a familiar rhythmic tapping came on her door. "Come in, Hayate-chan!"

"Hello, hello!" Hayate waved as she entered the room. "I saw you pull in from my window at the office so I thought I'd see where you ran off to, leaving your little puppy all on her lonesome."

"Vita-chan can handle training just fine until I get there." Nanoha stuck out her tongue. "She's not a puppy."

"Follows you around as much." The two shared a giggle at the inside joke and Hayate sat on the bed. "Oh, doing some shopping?" She held up a shirt and whistled at it. "Wow, nice brand. I really like the design."

"I got it for Fate-chan, she can't afford anything to wear yet."

"I see." Hayate looked down at Nanoha and sighed out lightly. "You know, you really should change skirts."

"Why? I like this one." Nanoha laughed to herself. "It's amusing."

Leaning forward, Hayate propped her elbows onto her knees and thought for a moment. "You know, I didn't really believe it when I heard, but seeing you actually _doing_ it is rather unnerving."

"What do you mean?" The girl turned her chair to face Hayate directly. "What's wrong?"

"Nanoha-chan..." Judging her words, the girl met her friend's eyes. "I think you're getting a little too clingy with Fate-chan."

Nanoha blinked in confusion, then laughed. "What do you mean? She's lonely; she needs someone to be there for her. I'm her wife--"

"You're _not_ her wife, Nanoha-chan." The sudden firmness made Nanoha instantly pay more attention to her. "First you let her carry you around, then you let her stay in your room overnight, and now you're... exploiting her to get attention."

"I'm not _exploiting_ her! What makes you say that!?" Nanoha moved closer to her, eyes and tone of voice clearly stating she was displeased in the word choosing.

"Nanoha-chan," Hayate reached out to take Nanoha's hands. "I know she's lonely and all, but _you're_ the one who's craving the attention. You don't even know her, yet you're doing everything in your power to make sure she's always thinking about you. Don't you think that's a little unfair to Fate-chan?"

"I don't see what you mean."

"For goodness sakes, Nanoha-chan!" Hayate raised her voice in an exasperated tone. "You're flaunting your panties like a cheap hooker just because Fate-chan said your other self did it!"

"If I _was_ flaunting them, it's none of your business!"

"You're only doing it so Fate-chan will protect you!" Hayate made sure Nanoha's eyes were still on her. "Did you already forget why Fate-chan fought Lexus the other day!? He was treating you like a tramp and she went and _fought_ him just because she wanted to protect your image! And here you go, flashing everyone because it makes you feel special to have someone who will look out for you. That's insulting to Fate-chan's meaning, isn't it!?"

"That has nothing to do with this!" Nanoha let go of Hayate's hands angrily. "Could it have crossed your mind that I _want_ people to see them!? I don't exactly have a lover you know. If it gets me attention from someone who already likes me, what's the harm!?"

"If you wanted to attract someone, you would have done it in another way! You're doing _this_ because you _know_ it would give you attention from _her_! There's a difference!"

"Even if I was what gives you the right to tell me not to!?"

Hayate stood and threw her arms out. "Nanoha-chan, _listen_ to yourself! You're defending yourself like this has been the way you are for years! You're trying to be someone you're not just so Fate-chan will look at you. Don't you see a problem there?"

_"No!"_ Nanoha shook her head. "I do _not_! Listen, we're not all lucky enough to have the love of our lives so casually stroll into our lives and click into place like you did. I was given a second chance, Hayate-chan! Somewhere out there, there is a person just like me who has this perfect woman who loves her more than anything and is living a happy life that _could_ be mine!"

"Exactly!" Hayate cut her off harshly. "And that person wants _her_ Fate-chan _back_! We're all working hard to send her home while you're pawing her up! She loves _that_ Nanoha, and you're trying to become her!"

"...Leave."

"Nanoha-chan, I just--"

"Please leave." Nanoha turned around and went silent, staring at the floor.

"...I'm sorry I yelled." Hayate walked over to her friend and put both hands onto her shoulders. "Please, Nanoha-chan... I just don't want to see you hurt, okay? I love you." Leaning over, she kissed the brown hair in front of her. "I'll tell Vita-chan to cover the entire lesson for you, so please try and-"

"Hayate-chan," Nanoha's words broke. "Just... just please leave."

"...Okay." Hayate gave the shoulders a squeeze and left the room, rubbing the bridge of her nose while trying to wipe away tears before they formed. '_That could have gone a hell of a lot better..._'

Nanoha slowly raised her hands, letting her chair shift forms so she could brace enough to move to her bed. Sitting there, she picked up a black and gold bra that she had picked out for herself and looked at it a few moments before tossing it to the foot of her bed. '_I am being myself,_' she thought, moving so she was face down onto a pillow. '_I'm not doing anything I don't want to; Hayate-chan just doesn't understand what it's like to be alone..._' Pressing her face against the pillow harder, she felt a small damp spot appear near her eyes. '_I'm not so desperate for love that I'd change who I am just for one person am I?_' Her breathing broke when a sob came from her mouth. '_I didn't put myself on display just for her, I did it because I... I..._' Pulling the pillow closer, she used it to muffle her crying as it slowly started to overtake her. '_I'm so pathetic..._'

* * *

Nanoha felt a hand on her head and slowly opened her eyes when a petting motion was made. "I assume," Vita's voice came from beside her,"that you didn't just fall asleep after a shopping trip?"

"Mm." Nanoha stayed laying down, face half buried in her pillow.

"You going to start talking, or am I going to have to sit here for a while?" Vita scooted so she was sitting right in front of the laying girl and leaned back, propping her hands up behind Nanoha so the girl couldn't roll away from her.

The blue eyed girl sighed out and wrapped an arm around Vita's waist. "Vita-chan, do you think I'm a bad person?"

"Everyone has a moment where they do something bad. It's what we do after it that's important." Her tone was light and casual as she looked up at the ceiling. "What did you do that's so bad?"

"I'm... trying to cheat."

"Cheat what?" This time the smaller girl looked down at Nanoha's face and noticed that she had been crying.

"Fate-chan."

"Ah, I finally got to talk to her today. Seems like an okay person, I guess. How are you cheating her?"

"... I'm... It's hard to explain."

"Then start talking." Vita rolled her eyes. Nanoha smiled lightly and pulled the girl closer. "You know, normally the person doing the hugging is the one trying to comfort."

"I prefer this." Nanoha took a deep breath. "Fate-chan is from another universe or time-line or whatever, right?" She was hummed at. "So, I was talking to her and... Well, she's married to me over there."

"So I've heard."

"I just... kind of latched on to that...I don't know, I was just looking for someone to love me and all of a sudden this girl appears that I'm supposed to be with... I guess I tried to skip the whole 'fall in love' part of relationship and jumped straight into the 'you'll understand everything about me' part."

Vita looked back at the ceiling and kicked her legs lightly off the side of the bed. "You do realize she isn't going to stay here, right?" The arm around her waist pulled her closer. "I see."

"I'm a bad person."

With an annoyed sigh, Vita began patting Nanoha's hair again. "Nanoha, don't be stupid. It is a strange situation and you acted the way you did because you were... I don't know, but you did it. If you feel sorry for it now and know you made a mistake, why dwell on it?"

"Grownups are complicated."

"I'm older than you." The remark made Nanoha smile again and Vita moved a strand of hair from the closed eyes. "Nanoha, just be yourself. Do what you want because you want to. Just because there is a woman who is telling you strange things doesn't mean that you are a different person. I don't think I'd like a Nanoha who was trying to be something that she's not."

"...Thank you, Vita-chan." Nanoha opened her eyes and curled around the girl. "Why is it you always know what to say to me?"

"If I knew, I'd use that to talk to Signum and Shamal to get them to stop treating me like a kid."

Nanoha smiled knowingly at the remark. "Be happy they care so much."

"Yeah, sure. Now, are you going to help me in tonight's training or what?"

Nanoha sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, I think I'll be able to. Thank you so much for covering for me."

"Its what I'm here for." Vita hopped off the bed and put a hand on her hip. "But I do want to say something."

"Yes?"

"Don't grab at smoke; you can't hold it."

The words made Nanoha look down a moment before meeting Vita's eyes again. "I want to try anyway, even if I know the results."

The smaller girl groaned and began walking away. "Don't expect me to buy the alcohol that night 'cause I ain't doing it."

Nanoha giggled and reached out to grip Raising Heart's offered bars to get into her chair. "Yes you will." She got a snort and the girl felt her spirits lift considerably. '_Even if I know she is going to leave... I want to experience this for what it really is... without cheating._'

Fate let out a breath as Nanoha called the mock battle to be over. In front of her, Tea and Subaru almost collapsed in relief, panting hard and almost chocking on the air they were breathing in. "Good job," she praised the two while glancing over her body to find out where she'd been struck. After a few moments, she noticed that her cape had a dirt smear on it from Subaru's kick. Granted, it wasn't a hit that would have affected her any, but the exercise was just to touch her, not damage.

"Don't you think..." Subaru fell back onto her butt and placed her hands into her lap. "That this is a little too intense?"

"No, not really." Fate replied back, walking over to them. "But I did overlook one thing."

A monitor showing Nanoha's image appeared beside them. "What was that, Fate-chan?"

"Tea is still using her old gun, and Subaru doesn't have her roller blades. I'll talk to you later about them." Turning to face the pair again, she addressed them while Nanoha busied herself with checking in on her other students. "You two are working well together, but can still use some improvements. Tea, you need to try and distract your opponent more so Subaru can get in clean hits."

"It's hard when she moves so erratically." The remark made Subaru laugh nervously.

"That's part of having a partner. You have to learn how to read body movements. In time you will be able to tell what Subaru will do before she does it, but the same principle will apply to different people as well. Control over your bullets will mean the difference in your team getting hurt and succeeding. Subaru, you're hesitating too much. Have more faith in yourself."

"Yes ma'am."

Tea met Fate's eyes and nervously waved her hand when the blonde tilted her head lightly as to ask what she was going to say. "Ah, it's nothing..."

"Go ahead."

The gunslinger scratched her cheek. "Uhm, I was just wondering... Why did you have me transferred here and paired with Subaru? I mean we know each other, but still... That's going a long way for a low-ranked mage."

"You're only low ranked because you haven't been trained," Fate answered easily. "Trust me when I say that I know your potential. Nanoha does too, or else she wouldn't have allowed me to train with you two personally this time."

"...I see."

Fate let her barrier jacket dissolve around her. "You two go take a shower and rest up for tomorrow. Be sure to eat enough okay?"

Subaru hopped to her feet. "No problem, I'm starving!"

The blonde allowed herself a smile at them before taking to the air. Flying over the trees, she left the training area and landed on the walkway to make it over to the instructor's area. As usual, the woman had several monitors all around her, blue eyes scanning each screen for a few moments before nodding and moving on to the next one. As she made it to the wheelchair, Nanoha opened her mouth to speak before the girl could say anything. "I'm sorry about ditching you earlier, I got distracted by things I had to take care of."

"No problem, I had fun being with Hayate. Vita was here afterwards to keep me company."

Nanoha nodded. "I have some things for you at home; want to come over and join me for dinner while I give them to you?"

"Eh? You didn't have to get me anything!"

"I wanted to." Nanoha turned her chair to face Fate and smiled when red eyes dropped briefly. Moving her hand down between her -now long- skirt, she giggled. "Perv."

"Ah! I wasn't... I mean..."

"If you want to look, then it will be in private." Nanoha looked back at her monitors, hands going to make some notes on her students. "I won't let anyone else see just to rile you up." Fate stayed silent, observing the girl in front of her until Nanoha glanced at her again. "What?"

"Nothing, I'm just.... happy, that's all."

Nanoha blushed. "That I offered to show you? Perv."

"Not that! I...Nanoha!"

"See? I can make you blush too." The words were proud, and the girl who spoke them let the topic drop there. Going back to her notes, she let Fate stand there and wonder just what she meant. "Okay students," She addressed, making all the people on the screens stop and look at her. "I'm calling it here tonight. All of you did well; I'll be working with you in groups tomorrow, so get plenty of rest, okay?"

Fate could see each face look as if they had just been told they would be checking if their barriers could withstand divine busters while blindfolded. '_I guess she's just as strict here as she is back home... I wonder how she'll do that while being in a wheelchair?_' The students all saluted and Fate turned to walk with Nanoha after the girl finished closing the training field down. "Good day?"

"Very," she answered back contently. "I learned a lot today. I feel much better."

"Oh?"

"Secret." Nanoha teased her. "I hope you like what I got you."

Going with the change in subject, Fate moved her hands behind her back and clasped them together. "I'm sure I'll like anything you got me."

"... I'm glad." The soft words made Fate look down at her but disregarded it when the girl seemed content and happy.

When Nanoha's room was opened, Fate took a moment to pull off her boots and rub her feet. "I prefer heels, as weird as that sounds." Red eyes went to Nanoha's feet and she knelt down. "Shoes?"

"Oh, yes, please." Nanoha allowed the girl to take off her blue and white boots. "That feels so much better."

"Do you get cramps?"

"Yes, it's not very fun."

Fate stood back up and followed Nanoha up to the bedroom. "I'll rub your legs for you?"

"I'd like that very much." Moving up to the raised area that doubles as Nanoha's bedroom, the girl grabbed the bag of clothing off of the headboard. Here, I hope it all fits."

"Aww, Nanoha." Fate began taking the articles out one at a time, inspecting each one with a smile. "Thank you, they're just what I would pick out." reaching back in, she pulled out a bra/panty set that made her blush. "Oh wow, I don't think that will fit."

"Erk... that's... that's mine. Sorry." Nanoha took it and felt her cheeks burn. "I guess I was distracted when I put them in the bag."

"Aw, don't be shy, it would look really nice on you."

"Really?" Nanoha looked up hopefully. "Mean it?"

"Of course." Fate answered back simply, as if it were common place for her to say things like that. "Black and pink really works on you, it brings out your eyes." While talking, Fate continued to inspect her new clothing. "I can't thank you enough for this, it was really a problem for me not to have anything and no money."

"I'm just happy to help." Nanoha leaned back in her chair and watched Fate hold a shirt to herself, smiling in the mirror. "You know, you're really cute."

"Thank you," Fate beamed at the compliment, still looking at her new clothes happily.

"Next time, let's go shopping together."

"Sure," Fate answered again, not really paying attention to what she was agreeing too. Her interest was on a skirt that she was considering putting on the next day.

'_Even if you are leaving, you're here now... I'll let you go when I have to... until then, I'll be selfish..._' Nanoha smiled and moved past the girl. "I'll start cooking, why don't you take a shower and change into something more comfortable. Will the nightie fit you?"

"It sure will." Fate held up the see-through black fabric and smiled at it brightly. "It's so pretty! It matches these boy-shorts perfectly, thank you so much!" Turning, she gave Nanoha a hug. "I really appreciate this, you just don't know."

"Thanks, that felt nice."

"Well, I'll hug you again once I'm clean." Fate patted Nanoha's head twice before going over to the bathroom, new clothes in hand.

"Yuuno, hey." Fate's greeting made a man glance over to his side, stopping his walk to the main building of section six. "My name is Fate Harlaown."

"Ah, you're the girl." Yuuno offered his hand, which was shaken with a little discomfort from the enforcer. "Hayate has told me about your situation."

"Thank you for helping me." She made a motion with her hand and the two began to walk side by side. "I really appreciate this."

"You're welcome, I am ahead of work at the library so I needed a vacation."

Fate held back a small chuckle. "You and your 'vacations'."

"Oh? Am I like this in your world too?"

With a nod, Fate smiled at the fond memories. "Yes, you would often come pick up Vivio to take with you. Nanoha and I would use that time to have some peace and quiet. Not that she's normally that bad, but... she's really energetic. If she couldn't sit still and read books for hours on end, I'd swear she had ADHD. I guess she stores all her energy up for quick bursts." She got a laugh from the male at that statement.

"So who is this Vivio?"

"My daughter." Fate nodded at him when he opened the door for her. "I wonder how she's... oh, hello Nanoha." Fate looked down at the woman. "How was morning training?"

"Was just fine. It went a little longer than I had planned but everything is on track. I decided to give them the rest of the day off, lord knows they need a break. Subaru even asked if she could borrow a bike from Vice to go into town. Seems like Teana knows how to drive one."

"Yes, she has a passion for the things." Fate clasped her hands behind her back. "We often talk a lot on our missions about cars...and...bikes..."

"Harlaown-san?" Yuuno held out his hand to keep the elevator doors from closing. "What is it?"

Fate stood still, thinking as hard as she could. "Wait a second... the recent android attack... Section six not being that old...Day off..." Her red eyes went wide. "Vivio! Nanoha, we have to get to Hayate!" Running into the elevator, she hit the top button and hopped in place as it began to move.

"Fate-chan? What's wrong?"

"Vivio. Erio and Caro found her in the sewers a few months after the base opened up. It was when Tea borrowed Vice's bike and... oh my god, my little girl is all alone..." When the doors opened, Fate ran forward and opened Hayate's door without knocking. "Hayate!"

The girl sitting at her desk jumped lightly at the sudden intrusion and gave Fate a shocked look. When no apology came paired with the frantic running for her desk, Hayate looked at the screen in front of her and smiled apologetically. "I will have to call you back, I have some issues to contend to." Closing down the window, Hayate looked over at the blonde. "I hope this is very important, I just got a call about an illegal life pod that--"

"That's just it!" Fate interrupted. "That was Vivio, we have to find her before the Numbers do!"

"Numbers?" Hayate stood up. "I think you need to fill me in on some things."

"Let's go to the chopper, can you contact Subaru and Teana?"

Nanoha threw out her hand to grab Fate's arm as she walked past. "Whoa! What is going on!?"

Fate took Nanoha's hand and pulled her along so the girl had no choice but to follow. "You come too, this is important." The one in the wheelchair in turn grabbed Yuuno's arm, pulling him along for the ride.

Hayate closed her connection with Vice and nodded at Fate. "He'll meet us on the roof. You told me earlier that you are behind your time period right?"

"Yes, by almost ten years." Fate walked faster when the elevator door to the roof was opened. "Space-Time really threw one over on me. Now," Red eyes looked around the helicopter and saw Vice come running out the stairway door. "Good, I'll explain everything once we're inside."

Yuuno sat next to Hayate and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "It's not like you to let yourself be dragged around like this."

"I'm skeptical too, but I can tell she's honestly scared. If she knows about this life pod, then it may help us take down Scaglietti... By the way, hi."

Yuuno grinned and shook his head. "Always a fun time with you."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Hayate stated as she looked at the broken open life pod amidst the wreckage of a traffic incident. "You're telling me that there is a little girl wondering the sewers from here, holding relics with her. Also, this girl is the reincarnation of the ancient Belkan leader?"

"A clone," Fate corrected. "She was born from the same genetic material."

"Born? Artificial mages aren't born, they're created." Nanoha moved so she could be between the two girls.

Fate shook her head. "Not her. She and I are the same; artificial mages created by Project F. We are clones of original people but made in a way that makes us different. I am a clone of my sister, Alicia. I have her memories and her body, but I was made using the systems of Project F. My mother was the one who started it."

Nanoha sighed out. "Okay, so, this girl... She's in danger isn't she?"

"We found her first last time, but there are people looking for her. The relics are sealed so we can't trace them... wait... Bardiche?"

"Yes sir?"

"Can you lock on the sealed relic?"

"Tracking... Faint trails of magic are in the vicinity. A trail proceeds."

Yuuno looked impressed. "Your device can track sealed relics?"

Fate nodded. "Barely, but yes. We recently got upgraded for it, but that's not the point. I can track Vivio from here, but the Numbers will be on the streets, including Lutecia and... Erio."

Hayate turned her head to look out the end of the tunnel where they were standing. "I'll have Nanoha-chan's students start sweeping the area. Yuuno, could you assist with your area scan magic?"

"Of course."

Turning to look at Nanoha, Hayate nodded at her. "Nanoha-chan, take the chopper with Vice and give covering fire if needed." She got a salute so she turned to Fate. "Fate-chan, I'll let you go after the child. Contact me immediately upon her retrieval. Let's get to it girls!"

Yuuno groaned and followed Hayate. "I'm a guy you know."

"Mostly." Hayate replied back absently, eyes ahead of her. "I'm counting on you, Yuuno."

"I won't let you down."

Fate brought a hand to her eyes and a pair of yellow sunglasses came to her call, wrapping around her head. "HUD activated." Bardiche stated the fact. "Displaying magic trails."

At once, Fate's yellow tinted vision was covered in a swirling mist of purple. "There must have been a fight here, the traces of magic is everywhere...Bardiche, can you limit the display to only the relic?"

"Not without losing the trail."

"Figures..." Fate frowned and turned around in a slow circle, glaring at everything around her. Red eyes shot across the ceiling and the walls before finally stopping near the ground on a grate that was disconnected from the concrete. A short jog allowed her to kneel down and move the grate the rest of the way and look into the small hole. "Bardiche, where does this lead?" A small map came up along her vision and spun until it reached the pipelines. "Perfect, this is where she went."

Standing up, the blonde held out her hand and formed small daggers of energy around herself before launching them into the wall, breaking it open enough for her to crawl into. Once past the bottleneck, she fell into the opening and onto her side. A light grunt escaped her lips as she stood. '_I need to calm down. Rushing myself and doing something stupid won't help me find Vivio any faster..._' Her eyes strained to see the light purple mist barely hovering over the ground. "Bardiche, any life signs?"

".....Yes, sir. Cannot give a direct distance due to the mass of interference."

Fate nodded and ran forward along the maintenance walkway of the large tunnel. Her eyes switched from the ground to in front of her constantly, making her stop and look around at every intersection to find the path her daughter took. After having to backtrack several times to find the path again, she found a ladder leading up to an open manhole cover. A single leap cleared the distance and Fate landed in a back alley, looking everywhere before finally seeing a small child walking away from her, covered in only a tattered shirt and dragging a chain behind herself that seemed to be wrapped around her tiny wrist. "Vivio!?"

The girl froze in her tracks, slowly turning around. Dirty blonde hair moved lightly and heterochromic eyes looked to where the voice was coming from. Upon seeing Fate, Vivio took a step backwards, and then another. Her legs shook in fear and her throat tightened when she tried to swallow. When Fate took a step towards her, Vivio turned and scrambled to get away, falling once and picking herself up only to have an arm loop under her stomach and pull her into the arms of the mage chasing her.

"Vivio! Are you okay!?" The girl in Fate's arms struggled more, crying out desperately while trying to get away. "Vivio! Calm down! It's me! It's Fate-mama!" Her only response was another cry and weakening clawing at her arms. "Vivio, Darling, calm down. I won't hurt you. Please. Vivio. Vivio, Calm down." Her words came paired with the girl slowing her attempts to get away, but not for the reason Fate had hoped it to be. Red and green eyes rolled up in the girl's head and she slumped forward, unconscious from struggling too hard. "Vivio..."

Fate gently shifted the girl and undid the chain on her wrist. "She should have had one with her, but her leash is empty..." Her eyes looked at the structure of the chain and how it was looped. "It's almost as if she was carrying three with her..." Ignoring this for the moment, Fate turned back to Vivio and inspected her as best she could. "Thank god, you don't seem hurt too badly..." An urge to follow the path back to find whoever was chasing her daughter was repressed. Instead, she stood up and looked toward the sky, flying up to stand on top of a tall building. "Nanoha! I found Vivio!"

A monitor appeared in front of the blonde, displaying Nanoha's face. "I have a lock on you; we're bringing the chopper to you now."

"Be careful, I don't remember this exactly, but I know the helicopter was attacked in my time." Before Fate could continue, Hayate's image appeared on her own monitor.

"Fate-chan, I need backup! Engaged in combat with three mages!"

"Just three?" Fate shook her head. "What's going on..." The helicopter came into view and she quickly flew to it, landing in the opened door and running a few steps to drop her momentum. "Nanoha, take care of her."

Nanoha watched Fate gently laid the sleeping girl on the seats of the aircraft. "Is this her? The artificial mage?"

"Yes; Vivio." Fate turned and looked at Nanoha with a pained expression. "I can't be with her right now, please watch over her..."

"Yes." Nanoha nodded and let Fate run out of the door before pushing the button to close it back. The rustling wind noises stopped and Nanoha moved to look down at Vivio, carefully moving strands of hair from the child's face. "She is too young to have gone through so much..."

Hayate grimaced as she blocked an attack and countered with one of her own. The blast sent her sailing backwards a few feet and she skidded slightly before stopping. In front of her stood three people with a male who was no older than ten keeping the lead. He wore fire red armor on his body that reflected the light brightly as flames flickered off of the metal. A helmet covered his head and the upper half of his face, angling down just over his eyes. Behind him two young girls stood, one with flowing purple hair and the other with short pink strands. "The trio, huh?" Hayate mused while staying on alert for surprise attacks. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"We just want the relics," the pink haired girl told Hayate lightly. "Please let us take them without a battle."

Hayate smiled at her. "Sorry little girl, I can't allow that."

"Hayate!" Fate landed next to the girl with a small crouch before standing and looking at the people in front of her. "Erio, Caro, Lutecia?" The two girls looked at her curiously while the male smiled. "What are you three doing?"

"We," Erio spoke for the group, "are trying to reclaim the relics that were stolen from us."

Fate walked forward, ignoring the fact that the two summoners went on guard. "Ifrit...You shouldn't have him yet."

Caro looked shocked but Erio just smiled more. "You know a lot about my armor."

"I do," Fate told him softly. "Erio, why are you working for Jail?"

"I'm not," He told her simply. "Jail helped me and my friends in the past. Right now he assists us and we assist him when needed. You could call it a mutual understanding."

Fate looked back at the girls. "Caro, Lutecia, same with you?"

The purple haired one spoke first. "How do you know our names?"

Fate thought about answering honestly but chose not to. "I read reports. My name is Fate."

"Well then, Fate-san," Caro voiced, holding up her left hand. "May I request the relics that were taken from us?"

"I'm sorry, I can't allow--"

Caro nodded, the gem on her hand glowing. "Ifrit, please."

Erio's armor suddenly flared to life with fire, making Fate take a few steps back from them. "Well then," Erio smirked, reading his spear-type weapon. "We will be taking what's ours back if you don't mind."

* * *

"Nanoha!" Vice's voice made the woman in the helicopter quickly turn from Vivio to look at the pilot's seat. "We have a magic signal from a rooftop three hundred yards from here!"

"A charge attack!?"

"Think so, can you block it? I'm going to try and lose the lock!" Vice shifted the aircraft to the side harshly.

Nanoha grimaced and slid the belts on the seat holding Vivio, frowning as the small girl winced in her sleep at being restrained. "Sorry Vivio, but you have to be safe." With one more fast check of her passenger, Nanoha moved to the side of the helicopter. "Raising Heart?"

"Yes, my master." The wheelchair moved on its own, locking in place on the floor as it moved downward and to the side to form a small turret. The metal on the helicopter shifted and formed a glass shield to block the wind.

Nanoha scanned the area and saw the ball of glowing energy on top of a building close to them. Her hand raised and her blue eyes focused hard, forming several layers of barriers out in front of herself. The pink magical circles followed her hand, each one growing thicker and thicker with each passing second. Moments passed and the blast was fired, crashing through several of the barriers and closing in on the aircraft. "Vice, brace for impact!"

The last shield managed to stop the attack but the force made the chopper spin a moment before starting to stabilize. "Go back!" Nanoha commanded, putting her hand out again and forming a circle to materialize several magenta balls of energy. "I can get them!"

Vice grimaced. "No can do, the attack scrambled my equipment. I need to pull us before another one stops it all together. We can't risk it with a civilian on board!"

"Dang it..." Nanoha growled and glared at the building, sending her attacks to distract them so they could get away. "You're right, retreat for now." Her hands moved over her armrest of her wheelchair and two monitors appeared before her. "Subaru, Teana, what is your location?"

Teana answered first, obviously running down a street. "We're a little bit ahead of your chopper, heading to the building!"

Nanoha smiled. "Good. Engage and restrain the tar--" Her words stopped when the person on the building leapt off, falling to the top of another office before seemingly disappearing in a run. "What in the...?"

"Nanoha-san?" Subaru asked curiously.

"...Never mind, the two are off my radar and out of visual..." Nanoha looked at the building once more before allowing herself to be pulled back into the main hold of their aircraft. "Teana, Subaru, we are going to make a landing nearby, meet us at these coordinates; we have precious cargo on board."

"Ma'am!"

* * *

"Erio-kun!" Caro's voice made the boy fighting Fate jump back to land near her. "I just got contact from Jail-san, he wants us to pull back and let someone else handle what was just recovered."

"Right." Erio spun his spear and met Fate's eyes, wiping a streak of blood from a cut on his cheek. "Nice playing with you Fate. We have to go now."

Fate put a hand on Hayate's shoulder when she moved forward to keep them engaged in combat. "Right."

Lutecia hummed, glancing over at them, before smiling. With a small wave, she stood between the two people and formed a magical circle. Seconds later and they vanished from sight.

"Fate-chan!?"

Fate twirled her cloak and slapped away something on her uniform before reaching out and grabbing a buzzing insect in her hand. "This is just like the one I sealed after fighting Erio the first time. Lutecia can track things with these insects; with it, we can lure them anywhere we want to continue this fight. Right now, we need to get the relics Vivio lost in the sewer. Can you deploy Nanoha's students that are in the city to search for them?"

Hayate stared at the blonde for several long moments before grinning proudly. "Well thought out, I'm impressed." Fate nodded at her and formed a containment unit for Lutecia's insect, placing it inside and sealing it along with the first one.

Fate opened the door to the hospital room and stepped inside quickly, almost not closing the door behind herself in her hurry. "How is she?" She asked softly while making her way to Vivio's bedside. The small girl, no more than six years old, was fast asleep on the bed. Eyes closed and breathing steady, Vivio showed no signs of knowing she had company.

"The doctors said she will be fine," Nanoha told her friend in a quiet voice as to not disturb the girl's sleep. "She has a few scrapes and bruises but mainly she seems to have overexerted herself trying to get away from the people keeping her."

"I see..." Fate sighed out thankfully while pulling a chair up to sit by her. Red eyes noticed a small plush bunny laying beside the girl and smiled at it fondly. "You got her a stuffed animal?"

"Mmn, I thought she could use a friend to be there for her when she woke up."

"Mama..." Both girls looked at the girl sadly.

"...Hey, Fate-chan?" Nanoha looked over at her. "This girl, Vivio, she's... our daughter in your world right?"

Fate slowly nodded. "...Yeah."

Nanoha looked back at the small girl, curiously taking her in. "I see..."

The blonde shifted uneasily in her seat. '_I can't take care of this Vivio, I have my little girl waiting for me back home... But Nanoha isn't really capable of taking care of a girl Vivio's age right now... Between her job, not having me to share responsibility with, and her being more limited in this universe..._'

"To be honest, I don't really know what I'll do." Nanoha moved her eyes from Vivio over to Fate. "I know I took her in, but things are different here. I'm not sure if I can handle raising a child on my own." A long breath was taken. "For the time being, we should let the church look after her. Maybe they will have someone who can help her."

"...Yeah." Fate agreed softly, eyes downcast. '_I can't force her to make the same decisions she made in my world... If she can't handle it, then I'm sure Vivio will be placed in a loving home that will take care of her._' Fate nodded to herself. "There are a few things about her that we have to take care of, first." Fate stood up and moved to the end of the bed. "We should talk about this at home while Vivio rests."

"... I'd kind of like to stay with her a little bit longer, if that's okay."

Fate blinked, but still agreed. "I don't mind... I think I'm going to meet with Hayate, though... I'll see you later?"

"You're not going to stay with her?"

"She's... I can't raise her, and she doesn't know who I am." Fate told her sadly. "She's not my daughter."

"...But that doesn't mean that you don't feel attached to her, does it?"

Fate looked down sadly. "Of course it doesn't. Maybe that's why it's so hard to leave right now...Nanoha, I can't stay here."

Nanoha gave her friend a sad smile. "Even though it's hard to leave?"

"It's harder to stay," Fate whispered softly as she started walking to the door again, closing it gently behind herself.

The woman stared at the door for several long moments before a scared, weak voice beside her once again called for her mother. "Don't worry, Vivio," Nanoha whispered softly down at her. "I'm here, don't be scared." Her palms were placed around Vivio's small hand and she felt her lips turn up when the girl tried to grip one of her fingers. "I'm here..."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Extra long chapter! I'm loving the reviews I'm getting on this. If I keep getting so many, I'll have to post the next part sooner.


	4. Chapter 4

I looked up at the morning sky from my wheelchair as I moved along the sidewalk leading to the main part of the Saint Church. The air was crisp and held a taste to it that others said they couldn't place. I knew what it was, though, as the sky had always been a part of me. It was the fall season coming, bringing with it cooler weather and the pretty colors of leaves before they fall. I liked this season best and smiled to myself as I made it into the church after someone held the door for me. Upon entering I saw sister Schach looking around herself frantically and I couldn't help but go over to her to ask what was bothering her so much.

**AlternativeS IV  
By: Satashi**

"You lost her?" Nanoha asked, honestly shocked at what she was just told. "How do you lose a little girl!?"

"I'm terribly sorry," Schach said while bowing, embarrassed. "I went to check on her and she wasn't in her room. I don't think she could have made it too far..."

"I'll help look." Turning her chair, Nanoha moved herself in the opposite direction. "Contact me if you find her, okay?"

"Thank you, Nanoha-san."

The girl in the chair sighed out in a mixture of worry and annoyance. _'I can't believe they lost her... Poor thing must be scared out of her mind...'_ Nanoha licked her lips and tried to repress a worried feeling. _'She's so young; I hope we find her so we can help her...If I was a little girl, where would I go?_' Her blue eyes looked out a window she was passing. _I'd want to be outside, away from everyone else..._' Turning, she headed down another hallway and out through a door leading into a small outside area in the middle of the church.

Passing a flower bed, Nanoha looked around and did a double take when she thought she saw motion out of the corner of her eye. Moving to a large tree in the middle of the tiny park, Nanoha saw Vivio hiding half behind the tree holding the stuffed rabbit she had given her. "Hello there," Nanoha spoke softly, making Vivio move behind the tree more. "I see you found the bunny I gave you." Vivio looked down at her friend and then slowly turned back to Nanoha, nodding lightly. When no words were given, Nanoha tried again to talk with her. "My name is Nanoha... what's yours?"

"...Vivio." The single word was said softly, laced with a slight bit of fear in it.

"Vivio... that's a really nice name." Nanoha smiled at her. "How old are you, Vivio?"

"...Don't know." The answer made the older woman want to bite her tongue. "Where's my mama?"

"Can't find your mama?" Nanoha asked softly, instantly reflecting back on Fate. "That's not good... How about we look for her together?" Offering her hand out, she kept smiling at the blonde in front of her until she slowly came out from hiding and walked over to her to accept the hand. "What does your mama look like?"

"...Don't know..." Vivio sniffled, looking down. "...Scared."

Nanoha placed her other hand on top of Vivio's gently. "Don't be scared; I'm here with you, okay?" She got a small nod but Vivio's eyes still clearly told how she felt. "...Are you hungry, Vivio?"

"Mmn." A small nod came paired with the sound.

"Do you like waffles?" Nanoha smiled again, getting an interested look. "Why don't we go someplace where we can eat some? Bunny-san can come too." Glancing down at Vivio again, Nanoha felt a twinge of sympathy when she noticed the girl was only wearing a shirt that went to her knees. "Do your feet hurt? Want to sit on my lap?"

"Mmn..." The girl looked down a moment but her mis-matched eyes turned back up, looking at the outstretched arms of the woman leaning towards her. After several seconds of debating with herself, she raised her arms and allowed Nanoha to lift her and place her onto the older woman's legs.

"There," Nanoha praised her with a smile. "Isn't that better?" One hand went to Vivio's hair and patted it softly. "We'll get you some clothes after we eat, okay?" Vivio turned and looked back at her curiously. "Don't worry, you're safe okay?"

"Nanoha-san!" Schach's voice came as the woman ran out into the garden. "I saw you from the window."

"I just found her," Nanoha explained happily. "We're going to get something to eat; she must be starving, I'm sure she hasn't eaten since at least yesterday morning."

"I'll take her-" Schach reached out to Vivio but pulled back when the girl cried out and hugged Nanoha, hiding her face in the woman's breasts. "Ah..."

"Don't be scared, Vivio." Nanoha tried to sooth her and repress the shock of suddenly being held onto. "You're here with me; I won't go anywhere." Red and green eyes looked up at her, moistened with tears, paired with a scared sound coming from the child's closed mouth. "I promise; you're safe with me." Nanoha leaned down a bit and stroked Vivio's hair. "Relax, everything is okay now."

Vivio slowly nodded and placed her face back against Nanoha's chest, holding onto her just in case. "Mmn..."

Nanoha looked back at Sister Schach with a helpless expression. "Guess it can't be helped... Let's go to the kitchen and get her fed."

"O-Okay..."

* * *

Nanoha watched with interest as Vivio looked at her fork and butter knife with a helpless expression. Clumsily the girl tried to cut off a bite of the food but only succeeded in moving it around on her plate. Before tears came to Vivio's eyes, Nanoha forced herself to stop watching the adorable act and lean over to take Vivio's plate. "Here, I'll help you." Easily, she began to cut up the waffles into bite sized pieces. "There you are, Vivio." Nanoha moved the plate back to the girl and felt rather proud of herself when she got a cheerful sound mixed with a chomp of food. "You were really hungry, huh?"

"Mmn!" Vivio stabbed another bite, holding the fork in her closed fist.

Schach leaned over to Nanoha while looking at Vivio. "Ne, Nanoha-san..." When the older woman shifted closer to her, she began to whisper. "What are we going to do with her? We know she's an artificial mage, so she doesn't have parents..."

"I'm not sure exactly," Nanoha whispered back just as quietly. "We need to find someone who can take care of her." Turning back to Vivio, Nanoha watched the girl eat bite after bite, getting more and more syrup on her face. Not being able to help it anymore, Nanoha got a napkin and moved next to Vivio again. "Here, you're making a mess of yourself..." Vivio allowed her to wipe her face, making content sounds at being pampered.

Now with a clean and full child to contend with, Nanoha allowed Vivio to sit on her lap once more. Together along with Sister Schach, they went down the church hallways and to a room where they kept a few spare clothes for children. "Anything in her size?" Nanoha asked curiously, holding Vivio by her sides while the girl looked around with interest.

"Yes, this should fit her." Schach pulled out a white shirt with blue sleeves. "And here's the matching skirt." A blue skirt was offered as well.

"Change clothes, Vivio," Nanoha told her gently. With a small motion, the woman lifted Vivio from her lap and placed her down onto the floor. When she was looked at helplessly, Nanoha gave her a sad smile. "Want me to help you?" A nod answered her. "Lift your arms for me."

Three minutes and a clothed Vivio later, the small group went back into the hallways and headed to the front of the church. "I'll contact you as soon as we find someone." Schach spoke happily. "Thank you for your help, Nanoha-san."

"Wasn't a problem at all." Nanoha smiled at Vivio next to her. "I have to go now, Vivio."

"Waheh?" The girl grabbed Nanoha's wheelchair and shook her head. "No!"

"Don't worry, Sister Schach will take good care of you." Nanoha tried to smile again when Vivio started crying openly. "Vivio, don't cry, you'll be just fine." The loud crying was mixed with sobs and broken half words despite the two older women trying to sooth her.

"Vivio, we will have lots of fun together," Schach promised as best she could. "Don't worry; you'll be really happy here!" The crying got louder when Schach placed her hands on Vivio's shoulders. The small girl moved away and held onto Nanoha's leg tightly, shaking her head and crying out even more.

Nanoha looked helplessly at Schach and got a hopeless look in return. "I guess it can't be helped then... I'll look after her for the time being."

"But Nanoha-san...Are you able to care for such a young girl while on the base?"

"No," Nanoha shook her head, moving a hand down to stroke Vivio's hair in an attempt to calm her. "But I can't just leave this child after everything she's been through... It seems like she trusts me and I'd hate to think what would happen to her if I left her like this... she may try to run away again, and keeping her under lock and key would be no better than whoever had her beforehand..."

"I see..." Schach rubbed her hands together. "If there's anything I can do to help just let me know."

"I will, thank you." Taking a deep breath, Nanoha leaned forward to the still sobbing girl holding onto her. "Vivio," the gentle voice saying her name made Vivio look up at Nanoha, sniffling heavily. "Would you like to come home with me?"

"...Mmn." Nodding, Vivio looked up at her with shaking red and green eyes stained with tears.

Nanoha nodded and carefully started wiping away the tears on Vivio's face. "Okay then, we'll stay together for a while; is that okay?" Another nod and hum came, paired with a noticeable lift in the girl's spirits. "Then let's head home together." Taking Vivio's hand, she nodded at her friend once more.

* * *

"It's not much, but it's a start," Yuuno finished while glancing over the monitors in front of himself. "At least we've managed to narrow down the rift you came through, Harlaown-san."

"Please call me Fate." The blonde offered happily. "Thank you so much, Yuuno, you have no idea how much better I feel after hearing this."

The male grinned. "We're just getting started, but it seems like we have a clear direction on where to go from here. If everything goes absolutely perfectly smoothly, then I'd say you will be on your way back home in little over a month."

"A month..." Despite the timeframe, Fate couldn't help but smile broadly, red eyes shining with a light that she hadn't shown once since she arrived. "I'd wait forever if it meant I could go back to my family one more time."

A beeping sound rang up, making Hayate look up from her desk. "Speaking of which, Nanoha is contacting us." A button was pressed and Nanoha's image appeared on a screen along with the loud yelling of a small child. "Na-Nanoha!?"

Nanoha looked at her friends on the screen embarrassedly. Vivio was clinging to her tightly, yelling without shame at the idea of being removed from Nanoha's arms. "Uhm... Help me, please?" She asked, blushing hard and offering a light smile.

Hayate laughed happily at the sight and nodded at her friend teasingly. "We're on our way. Try not to make the girl cry too much before we get there okay?"

"Mou, not funny, Hayate-chan." Nanoha pouted at her as the connection cut off. Turning back to Vivio, the woman tried again to reason with her. "Vivio, don't cry so much okay? I will only be gone for a few hours. I promise I will be back.... Aw, please Vivio? Pretty please?" Her attempts at requesting leave fell on deaf ears as Vivio shook her head, clinging harder to Nanoha's legs. "I have no idea how to deal with a crying child..."

The door to Nanoha's room opened and Hayate walked in along with Yuuno and Fate. The woman in the lead crossed her arms and looked at Nanoha with an amused smirk. "Well, this is an interesting sight. Nanoha-chan is babysitting, and not doing a very good job."

"Ha, ha, ha." Nanoha gave a sarcastic laugh. "What do I do? She refuses to let me go."

Fate took a step forward and picked up the small stuffed bunny that was on the floor. "Vivio?" Her voice was soft and light, making the small girl tense up before turning around. At once, Vivio screamed out in terror and scrambled to climb up on Nanoha. Clinging to the woman tightly, she pressed her face against Nanoha's chest and sobbed out.

Hayate looked down at the blonde curiously. "Not very good with the children, are you?"

"I...I don't understand." Fate stood up completely and walked to Nanoha, offering the bunny to Vivio. Instead of taking it, Vivio started to shiver, hugging onto Nanoha more and crying out. "Vivio?"

Nanoha took the plushy and gave Fate an apologetic look. "She seems to be scared of you for some reason."

"It seems so..." Fate answered back softly. "I'd better move away..." True to her words, the blonde turned and walked away, hiding behind Yuuno.

"Vivio," Nanoha spoke to her in a caring tone. "Don't be scared, nothing will hurt you. See, bunny-san says it's okay." Her hand made the plushy bounce lightly in the air before Vivio took it and held it close to her chest.

Hayate moved forward this time and knelt down next to the two, looking at Vivio with curiosity. "You have very pretty eyes, Vivio."

"This is Hayate-chan," Nanoha introduced the still sniffling girl to her friend. "She's my best friend in the world." As an afterthought, she looked at Yuuno and stuck out her tongue playfully at him. "And that is Yuuno-kun, my... best male friend in the world."

"Hello, Vivio." Yuuno greeted with an overdramatic bow that made Vivio forget the current problem she was facing.

Fate held back saying anything and instead watched the small group talk to Vivio, distracting her for a moment so she could calm down. '_I wonder what made Vivio so afraid of me? Was it because I grabbed her when she was running away? Does she think I will hurt her?_'

"Vivio," Nanoha spoke up again, rubbing the girl's back. "I really have to go do my duties now." At once Vivio's eyes started to mist up.

"So," Hayate interrupted the waterworks. "You get to stay with me for a while, until Nanoha-chan can come back. It will be lots of fun!"

Yuuno glanced over at Hayate and whispered into her ear so no one else could hear. "Are you able to watch after her right now?"

"A small break won't kill me, at least until Nanoha finishes her training." Hayate picked up her voice again and opened her arms up. "Come on; let's go have some fun, okay Vivio?"

Vivio looked from Hayate to Nanoha, giving a small whimper at the idea of being transferred. "It's okay," Nanoha promised her. "I will come pick you up in a few hours. You don't want to be a selfish girl, do you?"

Another displeased sound was made but Vivio did allow herself to be plucked from Nanoha's lap and cradled against Hayate's body. "There," Hayate cooed at her. "We'll play dress-up!"

Nanoha rubbed her forehead. "Ah, I need to get some clothes for her as well."

"I'll get them," Fate spoke up again. "I got my first paycheck for the missions I did, so it won't be a problem."

"No, no, I'll pay for them." Nanoha shook her head.

"Its okay, my money won't be used later on anyway. The least I can do is get some clothes. Should I pick up some groceries while I'm out?" Fate moved to the kitchen and looked around to see what she should buy.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha turned and moved over to the girl, blushing. "Really, you don't have to--"

"Shush," Fate replied simply, pulling up a monitor and starting to make a list. "I want to." Looking over at Nanoha, she smiled down at her and leaned over to touch her nose in an imitation of what Nanoha did to her earlier. "Should I bring back some ice cream for her?"

"I... guess so." Nanoha reached up and took the finger in her hand, holding onto it. "Thank you... Fate-chan."

"You're very welcome." Letting Nanoha hold onto her finger, she looked over at Vivio, who quickly turned away from her to hide against Hayate. "Well, I'll be off then... Can I borrow your car, Nanoha?"

"Certainly."

Fate shifted the many bags in her arms as she opened the door leading into Nanoha's loft-style room. "I'm back," she called out contently, only to be shushed by the girl sitting on the couch.

"Vivio is taking a nap." Nanoha revealed in a slightly hushed voice. "I finally got her to sleep so I'd like for her to rest up."

Fate smiled at her as she dropped off the groceries on the kitchen cabinet. "Remember that when she's wired at three in the morning." Opening the bags up, she started placing random things into the small refrigerator. "Don't get up; it's not much."

"You didn't even look to see if I was," Nanoha complained lightly as she leaned back onto the couch.

"I know you." Fate hummed while finishing up the small task. Once completed, she picked up the plastic bags containing Vivio's clothes and walked over to Nanoha. Sitting beside her, she started holding up the outfits in turn. "What do you think?"

"Very nice," Nanoha inspected each set of clothing happily. "This should last her."

"I got a few things for me as well. Yuuno said I would be here for at least a month longer if there are no delays. I'm honestly expecting it to be longer, but one can hope, right?" She held up a see-through pink nightie. "I got this for you." Handing it to Nanoha, Fate started rooting through the bag. "There are matching panties in here somewhere...Ah," Holding them up, she smiled.

Nanoha felt her cheeks burn as she inspected it. "Wow..."

"Is it too much?" Fate asked with a hint of concern in her voice. "I wanted to get you a little something since you've been so helpful and kind to me. I wasn't going to do lingerie but I was in the store and it really... reminded me of you." She smiled lightly and looked away with a slight hint of embarrassment. "I think it would look really nice on you. Something pretty for a pretty girl, you know?"

Nanoha felt her heart skip a beat. Holding the sheer fabric to her chest, she looked down and stammered out her response. "Th-thank you..." Knowing that even the tips of her ears were red, she shyly glanced over at Fate. "I'll... wear it for you sometime."

"Mmn, I'd like that." Fate replied back casually, placing Vivio's clothes all back into one bag while placing hers in another.

"S-so..." Nanoha fidgeted, trying to repress the thoughts of having someone actually _wanting_ to see her in something sexy. "A month, huh?"

"Yes, it's nice to have a time frame. I'm sorry for imposing on you like this. Hayate gave me my own room and yet I've been here the past few days."

"Don't worry..." Nanoha finally folded her gift and placed it beside herself. "Really, it's nice to have company. It gets... a little lonely here by myself."

"I'm sorry." Fate shifted to sit closer to Nanoha. "I wish I could help with that."

"You are..." The woman looked at Fate and then back to her lap, leaning ever so slightly closer to her. "What do we normally do in times like this?"

A happy smile came to Fate's lips as she reflected back. "Really want to know?"

"Yes?"

Fate leaned closer to Nanoha and smiled teasingly, a hint of playfulness in her eyes. "Kiss. Simple kissing while holding each other. Smiling, light flirting, sometimes tickling each other... just enjoying being next to each other."

Nanoha thought on it, smiling at the idea. "What's it like?"

"I can't... really describe it." Fate leaned back onto the couch and soon found Nanoha laying back as well. Out of instinct her arm went over the other girl's shoulders. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"No!" Nanoha reached up and grabbed Fate's hand before it left. "I mean, it's okay... its comfortable, you know?"

To the blue eyed girl's delight, Fate simply smiled and nodded. "It is; you always were a snuggle slut."

"Snuggle slut?" Nanoha laughed when saying the words. "That's sickeningly cute, in a weird kind of way." Leaning onto Fate more, she played with the fingers on her shoulder with her own. "So... are you a snuggle slut as well?" The blonde looked up at the ceiling and pretended to think about the question. '_She's so casual about being close like this... I love it._' Nuzzling against the blonde's neck, Nanoha inhaled deeply. "You smell nice."

"Tried on perfume while at the mall. A guilty pleasure, you could say."

Nanoha arched an eyebrow at her. "You wanted to get me a gift and tried on perfume, then bought me lingerie?" She grinned. "And you even smiled when I offered to show you my underwear... perv."

"Ah, no, that's..." Fate felt her words stop in her throat, unsure of what to say.

"Its funny," Nanoha replied back contently. "I don't mind... I think it's cute." Shifting her head to rest on Fate's shoulder, she gazed at the blonde. "You're so pretty and shy, so it's really cute to think that you have a dark side."

"H-hey now..."

"Hm?" Nanoha interlaced her fingers with Fate's.

"Nothing... just for a moment I could swear you really were her." Fate told her softly, voice suddenly getting a little sad.

Nanoha felt as if she had been slapped. A mixture of annoyance and jealousy mixed in her chest and she pulled away from Fate. '_Why won't you look at me for who I am?_'

"Nanoha?" Fate asked, unsure as of why the girl suddenly pulled away from her so fast. "Is something wrong?"

"No."

Fate grimaced. "Uh oh... What did I say? Was the nightie too much for a gift after all? I'm sorry, I'll--"

"It's not the nightie." Nanoha replied back a little snippier than she had intended. "It's just... ugh, I don't know. I'm sorry, I'm just in a weird mood I guess."

"Oh... Okay..."

"Fate-chan," Nanoha reached out for the blonde when she went to stand up. Looking up into the now sad eyes, she couldn't help but sigh out. "Um... Remember the other day you said you would hug me again after you got out of the shower?"

"...Yes?"

"I could use that hug."

Fate instantly moved back down and wrapped her arms around Nanoha, pulling her close. "Silly girl, if you had a weird day and are in a mood, you can always have a hug."

Inhaling Fate's scent, Nanoha slid her arms around the girl's waist and held on tight. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Fate moved back enough to rest her forehead against Nanoha's. "Anything else you would like? How about a leg massage?"

Nanoha smiled, blushing happily at the closeness of Fate's face. "I would love that, very much." Fate slid off the couch and smiled up at her, slowly running her hands up Nanoha's leg before gripping the stocking and ever so slowly peeling it down. '_Oh my god that's such a seductive sight._' Nanoha's eyes went wide and she hid her face behind both her palms, gasping at the bold thought that ran through her mind.

"Nanoha? What is it?" Fate asked curiously, getting a furious shaking of Nanoha's head in reply. "Silly."

Nanoha looked over her shoulder when she heard rustling sheets behind herself. Vivio, lost in a sea of blankets, was struggling to find her way out. A small grin came to Nanoha's face as she moved herself over to the bed, watching the act curiously for as long as she could before knowing Vivio might get scared." Here, I'll help," she spoke up and noticed the struggling stopped at once to allow her to free Vivio.

The small blonde took in a large breath once her head was clear of the fabric and she turned to look at Nanoha, her hair frizzing in all directions from static electricity. Small arms reached out in a request to be picked up and Nanoha obliged her, pulling the girl into her lap and moving back to her desk to try and do some of her work. "Did you sleep well, Vivio?"

"Mmn."

Nanoha shifted the girl so she was sitting sideways on her lap and held up a finger in a 'no-no' motion. "When you're agreeing with a female, you say 'yes ma'am' okay?"

"...Yes ma'am?" Her words made Nanoha smile, which in turn made Vivio giggle and close her eyes happily. "Yes ma'am."

'_Her vocabulary doesn't seem to be that bad... but she seems to only want to make sounds to communicate..._' Nanoha reached up to touch Vivio's nose, getting a smile again. "Vivio, are you hungry or anything?"

"No ma'am."

The older woman looked impressed again. "Is there anything you want to do?" The girl thought about it a moment before tilting her head to the side.

"Don't know."

"TV?"

"Hmmn?"

Nanoha moved so she could go downstairs, past where Fate was taking a nap on the couch. "I think I have lots of channels." Raising her hand, she made a monitor appear above the table. A horizontal one appeared in front of Vivio, who looked at it curiously. "This one moves the channels up and down. The volume is here, okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Vivio looked at it a moment before turning to the side when Fate mumbled something in her sleep. At once Vivio shrieked and lunged at Nanoha, almost falling into the floor in her attempt to hug onto the older woman.

"Vi-Vivio!?"

Fate slowly sat up. "What is it...?"

"I don't know, Vivio suddenly got scared." Nanoha held the shaking girl.

"Vivio?" Fate sleepily moved over to Nanoha and reached out to stroke the girl's hair. "Don't be scared, you're fine here." When her hand touched the blonde, another shriek came and Vivio buried her face tighter onto Nanoha's chest. "She... really seems to be terrified of me..."

"Seems so..." Nanoha sighed. "Vivio... Vivio, look at me okay?" Reluctant eyes turned up to see the girl speaking to her. "Fate-chan is a good friend of mine... She won't hurt you, I promise."

"No." Vivio shook her head.

"Vivio," Nanoha tried again. "I promise you. Fate-chan is a good girl."

Fate leaned forward slowly, offering a smile to the girl who still tried to lean away from her. "Vivio, would you like some ice cream?"

"Oooooohhhhnn...." A sound that was mixed between wanting and dreading came at the same time, making both of the older girls repress laughter.

"I'll get you some," Fate promised. "Would you like to go with me to the ice cream store?"

Vivio shook her head frantically but Nanoha nodded. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! Vivio, will you be a good girl and bring Nanoha back some ice cream? Pretty please?"

Vivio looked terrified but the gentle look she was getting made her slink back and meekly nod. "...Yes ma'am."

"Be a good girl for Fate-chan, okay?"

Fate stood and reached up to pick up Vivio, who instantly reached back for Nanoha. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," Fate told the struggling girl. "Vivio, please don't move so much, I can't hold you."

"Down!"

Nanoha held up a finger again. "Say please when you want a request, okay?"

Vivio sniffled. "Down... Please..."

"Okay," Fate sat Vivio down on the floor but took the girl's small hand in hers. "But you have to hold my hand, okay?"

Vivio looked at Nanoha one last time, tears in her eyes at the thought of being alone with Fate. The woman in the wheelchair smiled at her and leaned forward to try and ease her fears. "I promise you, Vivio, Fate-chan is nice. Okay?"

"...Yes ma'am..." Vivio almost whispered out, looking back at Nanoha the entire time Fate walked with her to the door.

* * *

"Here we are," Fate spoke softly as she parked her car outside of the mall. "The best ice cream in town is in here." Reaching over, she moved the seatbelt from the squirming girl's lap. "There you go." Opening her door, Fate slid out of Nanoha's van and walked around to Vivio's side to help her down. "Hang onto my hand, okay?" Instead of taking Fate's hand, Vivio gave her pleading eyes. "Mou... stay next to me, okay?"

Vivio walked next to the older woman down the parking lot, every now and then running a few steps ahead so she could jump over a puddle on the ground left over from yesterday's rain. "Don't run, Vivio, you could fall." Fate told her in a soft but firm voice. The little girl ignored the heading and tried to jump another puddle, ending up falling down when she slipped in the water. "Mou, Vivio..."

Running up to the girl, Fate gently helped the crying child to her feet. "Are you okay?" Making sure the girl didn't land in the water, Fate sighed at the lightly skinned knee. "Aw, poor girl." Her hands dusted off the dirt. "Not bleeding, thankfully." when Vivio kept crying, Fate bent down lower and kissed the sore spot. "Pain, pain, fly away." Vivio hiccupped and looked at Fate curiously. "Does it still hurt?"

"Mnn..." Shaking her head, Vivio brought a finger up to her mouth.

"Good." Fate moved forward and hugged Vivio so she could lift her up and balance her against her hip. "There, I'll carry you the rest of the way so you can rest, okay?"

"...Yes ma'am."

Now with Vivio in tow, the blonde made the rest of the way into the mall. Lights from the nearby arcade distracted Vivio enough for Fate to have a pleasant time of carrying her through the food court and to the ice cream section there within. A greeting was made and Vivio turned to the small shop, eyes going wide at the sheer amount of candy and toppings on display. "Hey," Fate started. "I'd like a _Pecan's Passion_ in a 'to-go' container, as well as a combination of sweet cream, cookie dough, chocolate chips, fudge, and a brownie, also in a waffle bowl." Turning to Vivio, Fate smiled at her. "What do you want?"

The question took her by surprise and Vivio placed both of her small hands onto the glass covering the ice cream and toppings. The amount of choices she could make overwhelmed the girl to the point where she just looked up at Fate hopelessly. "Um...."

Fate smiled at her. "Want me to pick for you?" The idea seemed to make Vivio nervous but she still slowly nodded, unsure if she was making the right choice or not. When given the go-ahead, Fate looked at the choices again and spoke up, easily recalling her daughter's favorite selections. "Chocolate and sweet swirl ice cream with chocolate chips, caramel, and crushed cookies in a chocolate covered waffle bowl." The words made Vivio make an excited sound as she turned from Fate and back to the people behind the counter. "Look, Vivio," Fate mused, leaning the girl closer. "See? That's going to be yours." One hand pointed at the mess of yummy goodness being mixed together with spades.

"Mmn!" Vivio's eyes stayed on the treat until Fate paid for them and picked up the two bowls to hold in one hand as well as carry the plastic bag containing Nanoha's bucket by her fingertips. The two went to a small table and Vivio found herself being sat down and handed a spoon.

"Don't eat too fast; you'll get a headache and might make yourself sick, okay?" Fate knew the words would be ignored so she added in another line. "If you get sick you won't be able to eat anymore, you know?" That seemed to do the trick and Vivio's eager attempts to get to her treat slowed to the point where Fate was confident enough to slide the chair forward. "Enjoy."

Watching Vivio eat the cold treat made Fate smile brightly to herself. '_It's amazing, being able to see my daughter so young again... I wonder what Vivio would say if I told her I got to see her six-year-old self make a mess of herself in a food court..._' The idea made her giggle as she ate. '_I should take a picture to show to her girlfriend._'

Several pictures and a very content Vivio later, Fate found the girl walking next to her back towards the door. When they were almost there, Vivio stopped and grabbed Fate's skirt. A small hand pointed next to the arcade at the merry go round. Bright lights were blinking and music was playing just loud enough to attract attention to it. "Can I?" Vivio asked, hope laced in her voice.

"Yes," Fate gave in at once, walking with her over to it and giving the man there a few dollars to allow Vivio to ride. Holstering the girl up, Fate sat her on a plastic horse and looped the safety belt around her waist. "Hold on to the pole, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Vivio almost shouted, bouncing to see if she could make the ride start any faster.

'_And I thought Nanoha was just like herself... Vivio is exactly the same as she was when she was younger._' The ride started and Fate stood next to Vivio's horse, one hand on the child's back. Around and around they went, making the older woman a little disorientated since her body wasn't actually moving.

When the ride finished and Vivio was lifted from the horse, the girl gave Fate large puppy dog eyes. "Again?"

"Sorry, but other people want to ride as well." Fate held Vivio with one arm looped under her and balanced the girl against her side. "See?" Her free hand pointed to the line of kids waiting to get on. "We have to let them ride as well, right?"

"....Mmn."

"We'll come back another day," Fate promised her. "We'll take Nanoha as well."

"Un!" Vivio smiled happily, missing the fact that she was being carried by the blonde all the way back to the van, where she was placed in the seat and buckled in.

* * *

A/N:Sorry about the random scene changes. For some reason FF.N decided that my standard scene change was bad, so they removed the symbols. After a while they randomly decided it was okay to use again, so I did. Now, without warning, they're gone once more. I put in page breaks in chapter 3, and this chapter, so hopefully it'll be easier to read, unless FF.N decides to remove the formatting AGAIN.


	5. Chapter 5

I awoke before Raising Heart's alarm went off, thanks to the small bundle clinging to me shifting. Groggily I opened my eyes and blinked a few times before moving the covers to see Vivio huddled against my chest, one of her small hands gripping my shirt. The sight made me smile fondly, and I was reluctant to move away from her. Slowly I pulled my shirt from her loose grasp and sat up. I slid my arms under Vivio and moved her to the other side of myself, placing her near Fate's back and below the mass of blonde hair that was strewn over the pillows before turning to brown and leading up to my head. I giggled quietly and scooted over to the side of the bed, grasping Raising Heart's bars to pick myself up. I felt a weird sensation on my scalp that I wish I hadn't ignored. When I allowed myself to flomp into my chair, a searing pain came mixed with a startled cry from Fate-chan.

**AlternativeS V  
By: Satashi**

"Nanohaaaaaaa." Fate groaned as she climbed over a dazed Vivio who was still half asleep. "Sweetheart, you know better than to sleep back-to-back with me."

"Ow... I'm sorry, Fate-chan." Nanoha rubbed her head ruefully and watched the still groggy Fate pick up the tangled mess of hair between them. Brown and gold strands were mixed like a bad quilting job, knotted in several places. "I didn't think about it."

Fate seemed to be waking up more and sighed out. "Sorry, I was lost for a moment."

Nanoha repressed an urge to reach out and hug the girl when she realized what Fate meant by that. "Can you undo it?" she asked instead, blue eyes going to Vivio who was sitting up now as well.

"I think..." Fate sat Indian style and started to pick at the clutter. "I'll have to break a few of our hairs." Her fingers quickly worked, narrowing down the situation until she had no choice but to grip the hair and start tugging. Once their hair was free, she sighed out in relief. "There."

"You're quite skilled at that." Nanoha mused, inspecting the tips of her hair.

"Got used to it." Fate yawned again and laid down, taking Vivio down with her. The child seemed to be lulled back to sleep immediately and held onto Fate's nightie. "Sleep face to face or back to front...."

Nanoha blushed softly. "Face to face sounds nice..."

"Mmn..." Fate managed to mumble out as sleep started to overtake her once more. "I'll be there later, have a good day."

"You too, Fate-chan..." Nanoha smiled happily. '_Wow, it's like waking up next to your wife..._' The thought made her grin as she moved around to get her uniform on. Several minutes passed as she dressed in silence, glancing over at the bed every now and then to see Fate and Vivio sleeping peacefully. '_It's going to be a good day._'

Heading to her field, Nanoha saw a forest setting already displayed on the training grounds. Curiously, she brought up her monitors and saw both Teana and Subaru already in a mock battle against each other. "Good morning," She greeted them contently.

"Ah, Nanoha-san!" Teana looked nervous. "Um, sorry for activating the field before you got here..."

"It seems," Nanoha mused, making each girl go stiff in fear of being punished. "That Fate-chan was right about you two. Could each of you report to my podium outside of the training area?" Both girls saluted, eyes wide in fear.

When the monitor cut off Teana looked at Subaru. "I told you we should have waited!"

"But... I thought she would be proud." Together they walked to where Nanoha was waiting for them.

"I just got transferred here too..."

"...I'm sorry, Tea."

A low groan came. "Its fine, I agreed to it anyway..." Standing before Nanoha, each one saluted once more." Ma'am!"

Nanoha held up her hands, a white card with a red X on it in her left, and a necklace with a translucent blue gem on it in her right. "I'd like to introduce you to your new partners."

"What the hell?" Lexus looked up at Nanoha's training field, seeing a flying blue road of magical energy along with a girl skating across it yelling out at the top of her lungs in excitement. At the same time he saw countless orange spheres of energy flying around near the bottom. Teana was dodging bullets from Nanoha while countering with her own. What he noticed the most, however, were the matching barrier jackets each one sported. "Instructor!"

"Yes?" Nanoha turned to look over her shoulder before groaning. "What do you want now?"

Lexus stood by her and pointed. "What did those two do to deserve custom jackets and storage devices?"

"They're intelligent devices," Nanoha mused with a hidden smirk. "Teana Lanster is a prodigy. Combined with Subaru and the two have already become some of my best students. We had the devices made specifically for them."

"You can't make an intelligent device in under a week for Lanster."

Nanoha shrugged. "Fate-chan had the schematics with her. We just employed them."

"That contracted mage had that information!?"

"She's very smart." Nanoha took the opportunity to rub it in. "Not only was she recently marked SS- by the bureau, she gave us the information for both Mach Caliber as well as Cross Mirage, the devices. Teana is capable of outstanding illusion magic and Subaru has almost doubled her skill since the two have been together."

"Che..." Lexus scoffed at her.

"And you are here because?" Nanoha asked after enjoying his annoyance.

"There was an artificial mage that was recovered from a recent investigation. An investigation that your team was on before it was even reported."

"Is that so?" Nanoha breathed out, shrugging again.

"I have papers requesting that mage." Lexus held out the documents.

"What!?" Snatching them, Nanoha looked over the certified request form that was signed by TSAB staff. "She's a living person, you can't treat her like an object!"

"According to the law she has human rights, but she is still underage and the Church you love so much has already put out an adoption request. My base will simply look after her until one is found."

Nanoha glared. "You can't have her."

"Oh? And why is that, Instructor?"

"Because.... Because..." Nanoha looked up at him challengingly. "I have already filled out the forms to become her legal guardian!"

"Ohhh? Can I see them then?" Lexus crossed his arms when the girl went pale. "I see then. Well, I'll just be on my way to talk to your base leader to get ownership."

"You cannot own something that is alive," Fate's voice came to their ears as she walked forward.

"I have every right to--" Lexus stopped talking when Fate met his eyes.

"If you touch her, I will cut off your hand." Fate warned, voice firm.

"She will," Bardiche's metallic voice came up from Fate's glove.

Lexus snorted. "I'm sure you will. However, I still have the papers stating--"

"Bardiche," Fate cut him off. "Show this man Vivio's adoption records." A screen appeared, displaying pictures of Vivio and the documentation of both Nanoha and Fate's written agreement to take the girl into their custody as legal guardians. "A dollar short and a day late, Lexus."

The man glared at her hard, crumpling the papers in his hand as he made a fist. "Who the hell are you, and why are you suddenly in my life?"

"That's classified." Fate retorted harshly. "Leave our base. Now."

"I'll be watching you," Lexus challenged her as he walked past, hitting Fate's shoulder as he went.

Once the man out of hearing range, Fate looked down at Nanoha. "If he investigates my claim, he will find out that I don't have her as my daughter in this time line."

Nanoha looked like she was about to be sick. "I... I don't know what I should do..."

"Nanoha, calm down." Kneeling, Fate put both her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Don't worry-"

"How can I _not_ worry!?" Nanoha almost shouted. "I've only had Vivio for a few days and already I feel like... like... Fate-chan, I can't raise a daughter, I don't know how to!"

"Take a breath." Fate told her sternly, looking into Nanoha's eyes until she finally tried to breathe properly. "We will think of something."

"There's no _time_!" Nanoha shook her head again. "He could very well go to the people above Hayate-chan and get Vivio transferred to him! He will treat her like a _thing_." Her eyes looked at Fate once more. "I... I have to do something."

"I can contact the church," Fate offered. "I can become her legal guardian until I approve of a foster home for her."

"But you don't even _exist_ on this planet!" Nanoha shot the idea down. "You were only able to get a bank account because you said you were married to me and were escorted by military personnel whose base you were in! If you try to get a child under your care they will need more than just a recommendation!" Realization slowly started to sink in on the girl. "I'll have to do it... Oh god, I'm going to adopt a child..." Tears came to her eyes and she tried to blink them away. "Fate-chan, I'm scared..."

Leaning over to hug the girl, Fate though about what to say. "Nanoha, you can be her guardian without being her mother... I think there is some sort of law stating that you have a certain amount of time to adopt or something..." The blonde tried to rake her memories for when she tried to adopt Caro and Erio.

"...Will you come with me?"

"...Yeah." Fate took a deep breath. "I dropped Vivio off at Hayate's office this morning so I could help you train."

"I see..." Taking a steadying breath, Nanoha tried to get herself collected. "I wonder what Vivio will think about all of this."

Fate gave the girl an honest smile. "Vivio," she told her softly. "will be very, _very_ happy."

"...Really?" Nanoha thought about it. "She really will?"

"Of course," Fate added. "You are saving her."

"Saving?"

"This isn't just changing your life," Fate whispered to her lovingly. "You're changing hers as well... Taking her away from pain and loneliness, offering comfort for when she cries, and making her smile every day when she sees you."

Nanoha felt her eyes moisten yet again. "... I really am, aren't I?"

"Yes." Fate nodded, massaging Nanoha's shoulders encouragingly. "You are changing her life, making sure nobody like Lexus will ever harm her."

The words made Nanoha calm down noticeably. "...Yeah." Reaching up, she touched Fate's hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Fate-chan. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"The same thing," Fate replied without hesitating. "I know it."

"...Thank you." Nanoha wiped away a tear. "I needed to hear that."

"Whenever you want to hear the truth, I'll give it."

"Fate-chan..." Nanoha brought Fate's hand to her lips and gave it a small kiss. "Thank you, for being here for me."

"Always."

'_Always,_' Nanoha thought to herself as she let go of her hand and moved to head towards Hayate's office. '_Please, Fate-chan._'

"And you're done," Hayate informed Nanoha once the signature was on the paper. "All I need to do is show it to the Church to make it final." Taking the document, she had it scanned and sent to the Church via her device. "But I must say...this is a huge step for you. Why did you want to do this?"

Nanoha looked down at Vivio in her lap and noticed that the girl was still confused about what was going on. "Well...Lexus forced my hand but... I don't know, I just... when the thought of her being with someone else actually was put in my face I couldn't deal with it. I don't know what I'm going to do but... there are a lot of single mothers out there who raise children on their own, you know? I can swing something..."

"You'll do just fine," Fate encouraged her. "I know because I've seen it." The words worked as she planned and Nanoha noticeably lightened up. Before she could offer any more advice, however, a sudden knocking on the door came. Hayate blinked but allowed entrance, smiling when Subaru and Teana saluted everyone.

"Sorry for imposing, ma'am," Teana began. "We just wanted to thank you personally for allowing us to have these devices." Subaru nodded eagerly at the words.

"Thank Fate-chan over there," Hayate mused. "She had all of the information for Cross Mirage, down to the smallest detail. Mach Caliber was already being designed as it was and the specifics Fate-chan had really helped."

Teana looked confused. "Ma'am... Why was this device fine-tuned to me? It does everything I could ever want..."

Fate waved it off, not wanting to reveal the fact that Teana was her partner in her world. "Don't worry about it."

Nanoha looked at Subaru. "Subaru? what is it?"

Subaru laughed and scratched her head. "That little girl, she's the one that was rescued right?"

"Yes. Vivio, introduce yourself,"

Vivio tried to bow from her place in Nanoha's lap. "Hello. My name is Vivio, I'm six years old."

"Nice to meet you, Vivio." Teana and Subaru spoke at the same time, making each girl blush. "So," Subaru continued. "Are you looking after her?"

Nanoha nodded. "I just signed the official papers."

"Papers!?" Subaru gasped. "You adopted her!? Nanoha's a mama!?"

"Mama?" Vivio repeated the word, turning to stare at Nanoha in shock.

"Ah...um..." The flight instructor looked down into Vivio's wide eyes. "If... you want, you can call me that."

"Mama....?" Vivio tried the word, her little voice breaking halfway through.

"Yes?" Nanoha tilted her head to the side.

"Mama!" Lunging forward, Vivio hugged the woman's neck tightly. "Mama!"

"Awwwwwwww!" The blue haired girl held up her hands and cooed. "That's so cute!" Her ranting was stopped when Teana elbowed her, not very discreetly, in the ribs. "Hey, ow..."

"There, there, Vivio," Nanoha soothed the girl clinging to her. Turning to look at a smiling Fate, she couldn't help but grin as well. "Wow, hearing her say that..."

"Really makes your heart flutter, doesn't it?" Fate finished for her.

Slowly Vivio moved from Nanoha's neck and reluctantly sat down again. "Mama..." She was smiled at so she turned to look at Fate, the girl who slept with her and her mother.

"Oh! I'm, um...." Fate felt he heart break a little. "I'm like an aunt. Nanoha-mama's good friend, like Hayate." She pointed at the other girl.

Vivio seemed to take this information and process it. "Nanoha-mama," She pointed at Nanoha, who nodded. "Aunt Hayate..." She looked at the leader of the base and was given a peace sign. Now encouraged by this, she happily turned to Fate and pointed. "Aunt Alicia."

"No, no," Nanoha corrected happily. "That's Aunt Fate."

"Fate?" Vivio blinked, pointing again. "Alicia."

Fate knelt down slowly, reaching out to Vivio to make the girl look at her. "Vivio?" Her voice was soft, almost shaking. "Where did you hear that name?"

"But... that's your name." Vivio looked confused.

"No, my name is Fate....Alicia... is my sister."

Nanoha gasped. "You have a sister!? Why didn't you say so?"

"She died," Fate whispered. "I... no it's a long story. Vivio, where did you see Alicia?"

"With the bad man." The child shivered. "She hurt me."

"Vivio, this is really important," Fate's voice got a little firmer. "I need you to think hard, okay? Tell me, where did you see Alicia?"

Vivio leaned back against Nanoha, unsure of what she should say. "I... don't know... In a dark place...There were lots of red and blue lights..."

"Red and blue lights..." Fate repeated the words while standing.

"Fate-chan?" Hayate asked with concern. "What's going on?"

Fate shook her head. "The bad man has to be Jail. The red lights are probably relics..."

Nanoha looked up at her. "...And the blue?"

"...Life pods, the liquid glows an eery bluish green. The Numbers were created that way."

"Numbers?" Hayate questioned

"Combat cyborgs, like Subaru and Ginga. They were created by the Project Fate system, but a little bit differently depending on which one."

Hayate shook her head. "No, that was destroyed years ago and even if it wasn't, that system doesn't create cyborgs, it creates humans."

"Like me," Fate confirmed. "I am a clone of my sister Alicia. The TSAB may have forbidden the practice but it doesn't mean it isn't done..." She looked down at Vivio, unsure if she should continue or not. "There's another, a clone created by the DNA of the Sankt Kaiser."

Hayate looked at Vivio and then back to Fate. "We need to talk about this."

"Later," Fate whispered. "I need... some answers first." Turning, she walked to the door.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha scolded her. "Don't leave us!"

"I'm sorry." Fate looked over her shoulder. "Hayate, I need to go off on my own. If Alicia is alive, I need to find her."

"Fate-chan, we don't even know if that's true." Hayate disagreed. "I can't allow you to--"

"Please." Fate said the word hard. "This is important to me."

"...Fine. You can go."

Nanoha gasped. "Hayate-chan!?"

The short woman watched Fate leave the room. "We don't have enough information to require her to be present. If she can get some more information to bring back to us, then her leaving now will benefit everyone."

"But--"

"Nanoha-chan," Hayate said the name a little sternly.

Vivio looked at everyone around her before slowly hugging onto Nanoha and resting her head on the woman's chest, not liking the tension in the room.

~**~

Fate leaned against the metal bar of the swingset support beam and looked out over the playground she was standing at. The sun was setting across the building's lining the horizon, making the light fade at an ever increasing rate. '_Alicia..._' The name brought back bittersweet memories. The small amount of time she had spent with her sister inside the Book of Darkness had left a lasting impact on her. '_If she's alive in this time... Does that mean that mother perfected the design, or that Jail completed it?_' Shaking her head, Fate took to walking around the small play area. '_Vivio was scared of me because she mistook me for my sister... Does that mean that she's working with Jail?_' Her red eyes looked up into the sky. '_So many questions..._' As she lowered her eyes, she saw a lone boy standing on top of the stairway leading up into the park. Red hair fluttered in the wind as a breeze came by and a smirk graced his face when the blonde started walking towards him.

"You knew you were being tracked," Erio stated the obvious.

"Yes," Fate agreed simply while lifting her hand to release the small thumbtack type devices that had been had stuck on her. The trackers flew to Erio, who accepted them onto his palm. "I need to talk to you."

"About?" Erio stood his ground, looking down at Fate at the base of the stairs.

"Alicia."

"Who's that?"

Fate frowned. "Don't pretend, Erio. You and I both know you know who she is."

Erio shrugged. "You're mistaken. Even if I did, what would be in it for me?"

"Have you given up on Project Fate already?"

The boy leapt down the stairs and stood in front of Fate at once, glaring up at her. "What do you know about it?"

Fate stayed where she was without flinching. "I was born the same way."

"You lie."

"My DNA was taken from Alicia Testarossa, Precia's daughter."

Erio snorted at her. "That plan failed; the doctor told me about it."

"He lied. Alicia is still alive and I need to find her."

The two looked at each other a long moment before the boy spoke again, walking around Fate in a slow circle. "Tell me, Fate, How is it you know so much? I did some research after I saw you were with that mobile force unit, and your name was never mentioned. It was as if you just appeared out of thin air."

Fate took a breath. "That doesn't matter."

"If you are who you claim to be, where did you escape from? What lab where you in, and why didn't I know about it?"

"I was born twenty years ago, or so. I was away from here while I grew up."

"You don't look that old."

"I age well." Fate met Erio's eyes when he stood in front of her again. "Please, Erio, tell me where Alicia is."

"I don't know who she is." Erio replied back again. "I do know, however, that the doctor would tell me if he had any information on my origins. That is part of our deal; I work for him, he provides information about me and helps me protect my summoners."

Fate sighed. "Erio, he is tricking you. He did the same thing in my timeline--"

"Oh hooooooo," Erio slid his hands back into his pockets. "Your timeline, huh? This suddenly got interesting."

"Erio!" Fate almost shouted. "_Listen_ to me!"

"You're not my mother." He grinned.

"I'm your sister!" Fate reached out and gripped the boy's shoulders. "Trust me!"

Erio looked at the hands a moment before lifting his own to make them release him. "I was hoping for a more informative conversation. I'll be on my way now."

"Erio!"

"Next time we meet," The boy glanced over his shoulder. "We won't be talking." With that, his body blurred slightly as he ran away from her.

Fate looked at the spot where Erio once was and slowly sank down to her knees. '_Why is everything so suddenly complicated...?_ Hugging herself, she felt tears escape her eyes. '_Erio... Caro... Nanoha... Alicia..._' Holding herself tighter, she forced herself not to cry. '_I just want to go home..._'

~**~

Fate opened the door to Nanoha's room slowly. "I'm back," The soft-spoken greeting was answered by Vivio, who suddenly ran across the room with Nanoha following.

"Welcome home!" Vivio shouted out, reaching for Fate's legs. The hug didn't go as planned and Vivio found herself falling forward, only to be swept up by Fate's arms. "Wah!"

"Don't run inside, Vivio," Fate scolded lightly.

Nanoha stopped and looked up at her friend. "What's wrong, Fate-chan?"

"Nothing... I just..." The blonde let out a hard sigh. "I'm just really homesick right now. It went from just waiting to go home to suddenly realizing that things are going on here that are just so complicated... Why is Alicia alive? Is it even her or just another clone like me?"

"Fate-chan..." Nanoha reached out and took the hand that wasn't balancing Vivio on the blonde. "You're more than just a--"

"Thank you, really, but you don't know. Knowing I'm a replacement for Alicia isn't that bad since I always had friends who helped me identify myself... but being here... where I died... and she's alive... It just makes me feel..." She looked down. "Even more like I don't belong."

"Aunt Fate?" Vivio's words made both women look at Vivio. "Don't be sad."

"...Thank you, Vivio." Fate bent over and sat the girl on Nanoha's lap. "I'm going to take a shower, okay?"

"Ah, I have dinner ready for us alre--"

"Thank you." Fate shook her head. "I just want to be alone right now.

The two watched Fate walk away from them and go up the small ramp leading to the upper half of the room. "Mama?" Vivio patted Nanoha's shoulder to get attention on her. "What's wrong with Aunt Fate"

"...It's an adult thing," Nanoha moved her chair over to the dining room table and transferred Vivio over. "Here, let me get your dinner ready."

After eating her fill and making sure Vivio ate her vegetables, Nanoha plopped the small girl onto the couch and gave her the coloring books they had gotten earlier. Vivio took to the new task at once, proclaiming that the coloring books were full of ghost that she had to bring back to life by coloring them. With her temporary child taken care of, Nanoha went upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door. "Fate-chan? You okay, you've been in there for almost an hour."

"...Yeah, I'm sorry." The sounds of water splashing came as the woman stood up. "I lost track of time."

"Its okay..." Nanoha leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. "Hey...?"

"Yes?"

Looking at the closed door in front of her, Nanoha brought a hand to her chest and gripped her shirt. "I know its hard being here... And this may not really help but... I'll listen if you want to talk about it... Because you're important to me, even if there is an Alicia in this world. Fate-chan is Fate-chan, no matter what." No answer came for a few moments, leaving Nanoha to wonder if she should just leave or call out Fate's name again. Before she could make up her mind on either, the door opened to reveal a still damp Fate with hair that was still dripping slightly.

"Nanoha..." Fate's voice shook slightly and her puffy eyes revealed that she had been crying for quite a while. The woman in the wheelchair opened her arms and got a wet hug at once. "Thank you. I really needed that..."

"That's what I'm here for," Nanoha whispered back to her. When they parted, Nanoha felt herself take in Fate's figure in just the towel. "Get dried off, I'll do your hair, okay?"

"...Okay," Fate nodded and slowly retreated back into the bathroom, closing the door softly.

Nanoha smiled to herself as she looked down at her now wet clothes. '_For some reason, being able to help her makes me feel so much better than when she just spends time with me._' Moving over to the balcony of the bedroom, Nanoha looked down at Vivio. The girl was still coloring contently, a pleased smile on her face. Taking the moment to check on the girl, Nanoha felt a warm feeling in her chest. Her mood lifted and she contently watched Vivio swap crayons several times as she worked. When Fate finally came out again, Nanoha turned and smiled at her, getting a weak one back. "Come here," Nanoha requested while moving to the bed. Raising Heart formed the bars for her to grab a hold to so she could shift to the bed but she found arms wrapping around her.

"Here," Fate whispered to her, picking up Nanoha and holding her close while getting onto the bed. Sitting down, she let Nanoha sit sideways in her lap between her slightly parted legs. Arms went around the girl at once and she rested her chin on Nanoha's hair.

"Fate-chan?" Nanoha giggled. "I can't comb your hair like this."

"It'll be fine," Fate whispered to her lightly. "Just for a little bit...?"

"No," Nanoha answered back, shifting so she could wrap her arms around fate as well. Her head rested against Fate's shoulder and she squeezed her softly. "Not just for a little bit, but for a long time."

"... Thank you."

"Stop saying that," Nanoha scolded her gently. "Don't thank me for things I want to do." Raising her head, she brought a finger to Fate's chin and made her look at her. Leaning forward, Nanoha touched their noses and rubbed them together playfully. "Eskimo kisses make everything better."

Fate couldn't help but give a laugh. "You're so weird."

"I know," Nanoha smiled brightly, watching Fate reach up to take her hand. "But aren't I supposed to be holding you when comforting?"

"We can swap later, I prefer this." Fate replied in kind, closing her eyes when Nanoha went to touch their noses again. "Silly."

"Yes..." Nanoha inhaled lightly, shifting so her nose missed the playful kiss and moved her lips closer to Fate's.

"Mama!" Nanoha jerked back, panting and looking as if she had just heard an explosion. "Mamaaa?"

Fate smiled happily, missing what Nanoha had just tried for. "Get used to it; she didn't get over her 'yell for mama' phase until she was nine."

Nanoha sighed. "I'm coming, Vivio-dear!" She felt herself being picked up yet again and moved to her chair. '_The joys of motherhood..._' Despite this, she smiled to herself.


	6. Chapter 6

I could feel the pulsing vibrations through my hands as I gripped the steering wheel harder. My eyes were narrow, focusing on what was in front of me intently, scanning and taking in everything all at once. My engine was screaming and my hand stayed next to my shifter and hand brake, thumb pressed on a small red button. The kick was instant and the speed I was going started to move upwards at a rate that would have most people worried about control. I was used to this, however, and my ruby red eyes seemed to drink in the world in slow motion while I kept moving. My power over lightning gave me speed that, when combined with racing, made me quite a formidable opponent. I passed the car to my left and I wove in and out of cars on the road, speeding to the predetermined finish line while the other racers strained to keep their wits about them at this pace.

**Alternatives VI  
By: Satashi**

The black car slid to a halt, skidding as the force died down from the sharp turn. Slowly the door opened and screams of victory came at once from around the woman getting out of her car. A crowd swamped to her, cheering and yelling while the rest of the street racers pulled into the designated area. When another car door opened, the winner walked over to him, blond hair flowing out behind her. "Second place," she cooed out with a smile. "Is the first loser."

The man glared at the woman, fist opening and closing in his rage. "Why didn't they say you were racing tonight?"

"If they did," The woman replied casually, plucking her winnings from a man who came to her. "Then little boys like you would have went home."

"This race wasn't meant for you, Thunderbird!" He complained, pointing a finger at her. "There are rules!"

"I make my own rules." Turning, Thunderbird got back in her car. "Call me when there's a race worth winning." With that, the window rolled up and the engine turned. The people moved from the woman's path, allowing her to leave the scene without any more conversation. The vehicle moved back out onto the road and drove casually to a bar, where it parked away from the other cars.

The blonde got out and began walking to her favorite relaxing place before slowing down to a stop. "You have some nerve coming to see me in person after that little stunt you pulled."

A chuckle came from the shadows under a street light that couldn't seem to make up its mind on if it should be lit or not. In one of its flickerings, a man was revealed underneath it. Light purple hair that went to his shoulders came paired with a set of yellow eyes. A sick grin was set on his face and he showed no signs of fear towards the girl. "I assure you, Alicia, I had no hand in what happened then."

Alicia scoffed. "Then _why_ did your little trio attack me as I made the delivery, Jail?" Walking over to him, she stood before the man and glared. "You paid me to transfer the girl from your little secret lab to your base. On the way there, who should I come across other than the Loli Triforce of yours. If you didn't inform them of me, how did they know I had relics with me, as well as what van I was driving?"

"Simple," Jail almost purred at her while holding up an ID tag smeared with blood. "One of the men who prepared your van was bought off by Erio."

Reaching out, Alicia took the card and read the name. "Never cared for him anyway. Always wanted to put an underglow kit on my car." Pocketing the card instead of handing it back, Alicia crossed her arms. "Now, there is still the issue of my payment."

"You didn't make the delivery."

"As I recall, they got all three relics. I left with them, you got them. Delivery completed."

"I wanted the girl." Jail narrowed his eyes. "You failed to bring her to me."

"If your people wouldn't have attacked me, I would have." Her hand moved to jab a finger against his chest. "You pay me to do my job, and I do it. If you can't keep tabs on your little children, who's fault is that?"

"I have my reasons for not telling them about you, Alicia. They are concerned with Project F--"

"And I _told_ you to never mention that name to me again!"

Jail didn't seem phased by the sudden outbreak. Instead he kept grinning while making eye contact. "I thought you would like an exception this time." Moving past her, he took a few steps away before looking over his shoulder. "What my boy Erio found while out will interest you greatly."

"Why do you think I care about him, or the little games you play?" Alicia turned around as well, glaring at him. "I'm a transporter, not a science enthusiast. What you are interested in doesn't really matter to me."

"Even if I said Erio described you perfectly?" Jail's smirk rose up more, hands moving out in a helpless manor.

"Oh gee, He attacks my van and forces me to make myself scarce before the cops arrive so I don't get noticed. So what if he got a glance at me, it doesn't matter."

"The thing is, Alicia," Jail walked back towards her slowly. "He didn't see you then, nor when he recorded a conversation for me." Stopping right in front of the girl, he raised an eyebrow at her. "He talked to another woman. One who looks just like you... One who was born from Project F, created by a very particular person, from my observation. You see, Alicia, from my years of research, I have managed to get a certain feel for clones and the process of making them. I can tell the difference between real and fake, you could say."

"And this interests me, why?"

"Because, my dear friend, with only the voice recordings and pictures that my dear Erio showed me... I know who this woman is."

"You have about three seconds to stop wasting my time."

"She, my precious Alicia... Is your sister. Or should I say twin?"

Alicia's eyes narrowed darkly as she reached out to grab his throat. "Don't play your sick games with me, Jail!"

Undeterred by the grip on him, Jail simply lifted his hand, showing a small slip of paper in it. "Here is where she is staying. Once you meet her, I do hope you remember that you owe me a big, very big, favor for this information."

The girl growled at him before letting him go and snatching the paper from his hand. "If this is a trick, Jail, so help me, our partnership is over and every location of your bases will become public knowledge so fast you won't have time to vacate them all before you're zerged with police."

"Have a good evening, Alicia." Jail called over his shoulder while walking away. "Give my regards to your sister."

~**~

"And this is where you came to at?" Yuuno tapped a few buttons on his monitor while looking around at the park near the center of the city. "Strange place for a time shift."

"Not _just_ time, but universe," Fate agreed. Her eyes scanned the area, finding nothing out of the ordinary. "Why was I here in the first place? A battle? But my jacket wasn't even touched."

Yuuno let out a breath while putting a hand on his hip. "Well there is a small spike of energies here, but nothing I can pin down. I need to know what the circumstances were that sent you here before I can really work on repeating the process..."

"I can't remember," Fate rubbed her temples. "Bardiche's memory log is completely blank as well."

"Devices sync to the world's time automatically. If you were sent to our universe, then Bardiche would have adjusted as soon as he was activated."

Fate looked down at her triangular gem. "Bardiche, have you adjusted your clock?"

"Yes, sir, twelve hours."

Fate blinked. "Out of sixteen... that means there are four hours where my memory was lost. Bardiche, can you access those four hours?"

"No sir, there is corruption in the data bank."

Yuuno nodded. "I can imagine how that would happen. Our ships are designed to prevent the interference, so an unprotected device would suffer from it. What we _really_ need is for you to recall what was going on that lead up to the rift. Can you remember anything? Anything at all?"

Fate stayed silent for a long moment for letting out a frustrated groan. "Nothing! I can't remember anything past sitting at my desk! Not even someone coming to me or being contacted!"

"Sir, last known contact was from Nanoha." Bardiche spoke up. "Requesting you to come to Hayate's office."

"Hayate...Hayate..." Face paced. "I was at my desk... eating a piece of candy... Hayate... Nanoha... Yes... Nanoha contacted me..." Hands went to closed eyes and rubbed. "She... she... she was nervous... and...and... _Argh_!"

"Calm down," Yuuno tried to sooth her. "Don't force it, just think calmly."

"Okay... okay..." Fate tried to steady herself.

"Maybe you should go to where your desk was in your world, see if it helps jog your memory. What candy were you eating as well?

"Why?"

"Taste brings back memories, much like smell. It's an aid that is proven to work."

"I... I see... Okay..." Fate nodded. "My favorite candy is Red Hots."

"Mine too," A voice made both people turn around to see a blonde walking towards them, red eyes shining as she looked at Fate. "Hello, Fate."

Fate's arms fell to her sides, breath catching in her throat. In front of her stood her mirror image, hair loose and flowing but bound near the bottom with a fluffy green ribbon. "Ali...cia...?"

"That's right," The woman answered with a hint of curiosity laced in her voice. She looked at the dumbstruck Fate for several moments before walking the rest of the way to her, circling the girl while inspecting. "Wow, you really are my twin."

"How...?" Fate breathed out, reaching to take Alicia's arm gently in her hand. "You should be dead..."

"I am very much alive," Alicia responded simply. "The question is, where did you suddenly come from and why haven't I met you before?"

"I...I..."

"Fate." Yuuno's voice made both girls look over at him. "Is this the person you were talking about?"

"Y...Yeah..." Fate nodded dumbly. "Alicia..."

Alicia hummed. "You seem to have known about me before now."

"Twenty years..."

The other girl licked her lips. "Twenty? So you knew me when you were one year old? Impossible."

"I'm twenty-nine," Fate revealed with wide eyes. "But you're only nineteen, aren't you?"

"That's correct." Alicia took the hand on her arm and inspected it. "So you're the older sister even though I was first? Were you born as an infant?"

Fate shook her head. "I was nine when I was born."

The other girl hummed to herself while thinking. "So you were born twenty years ago? That doesn't make sense, I always thought I was the one and only..."

"I... am a clone, a result of Project F that my mother was trying to create... I have your memories up until you... had your accident."

Alicia's mouth opened but she closed it again. After a few moments she finally spoke up once more. "I see. Well, this makes things interesting, doesn't it, Sis?" She grinned and couldn't help but laugh as she traced her fingers along Fate's face. "I sure age well."

Fate let out a small chuckle, shaking her head in disbelief. "This is surreal..."

Yuuno stepped up to the two girls after making sure to save all of his data. "Just out of curiosity, how did you know where to find us?"

The 'younger' sister looked at Yuuno and smiled. "I went to the base and someone there scolded me for making you wait on me at the park. I just came where Fate was supposed to be."

"How did you know her name?"

"Yuuno!" Fate chastised him. "She's my sister; why are you being so defensive!?"

"Because," Yuuno replied back, almost as sharply. "Vivio was terrified of her, and she placed him with Jail, a wanted criminal."

Alicia glared at him. "I don't know you, but I really don't like you." Grabbing Fate's arm, she started pulling her away. "Come on, Sis, I want to talk to you in private.

"Ah, uhm," Fate stumbled as she tried to keep up. "Yuuno, tell everyone I will be back later, okay?" The male seemed like he was going to say something else but chose not to, allowing her to be dragged away some more before regaining her footing. "Alicia, where are we going?"

"Call me Sister, or at least Alicia-oneechan."

"Sis," Fate chose the same term that Alicia referred to her as. "Where are we going?"

"Lunch." Alicia pulled the girl closer and looped her arm through Fate's. "I just found out I have a twin, I want to get to know her. You're free, right?"

Fate couldn't help but laugh. "You ask _after_ you drag me away." She got a giggle and was going to play a little more with the joke but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a black sports car in front of her. "Is that an RX8?"

"Why yes." Alicia walked up to it and both doors opened. "Yes it is."

Fate slid into the passenger seat and inspected the glossy interior. "Wow, this brings back so many memories..."

Alicia grinned. "You have one?"

"Had," Fate mused while inspecting everything. It was almost as if she was in her old car, down to the very last custom detailing. "Nanoha borrowed it, blew it up."

"That's what happens when people who can't drive get in these things."

"No, I mean literally blew it up. Wasn't anything left but the frame, broken glass, and melted things." Fate grinned, despite the bad memory of the several days afterwards where she and Nanoha didn't speak to each other.

Alicia pushed the button to start the car, smiling even more as Fate continued to fawn over it. "What do you drive now?"

Fate hesitated, catching herself before she mentioned a car that hadn't been invented yet. "Nothing, I'm between cars currently."

"I have one you can drive. It's not quite as fun as this one, but it gets me by."

"You have more than one?" Fate blinked. "How can you afford that?"

"I have my ways." Alicia took Fate's hand and squeezed it. "But enough about me, tell me about you. Where have you been for so long, why didn't you try to find me?"

"I thought you died..." Fate whispered, reaching over to place her other hand on top of her sister's. "And I... I just wasn't around much here. Believe me, if I could have done _anything_ I would have!"

"So it doesn't creep you out?" Alicia asked softly, looking over at Fate sideways a moment before turning back to the road. "I mean, you said you were a clone, right? Does it make you feel weird knowing the real you is right here?"

"Not at all," Fate replied at once. "No matter how I was born, you're still Alicia and I'm Fate. We're twins."

Alicia kept her eyes ahead for a few moments before she looked at Fate once more, smiling at her honestly. "I'm glad."

~**~

"Yuuno-kun?" Nanoha called her friend's name curiously when he came to her raised platform she used to watch over her students. "I thought you were with Fate-chan?"

"Was, yeah," Yuuno replied back before stopping to stand next to her. "Remember how Vivio said Fate's sister's name? Alicia."

"Yes?"

"She found Fate at the park." Yuuno motioned with his hands while talking. "I couldn't believe it; they looked exactly the same. I mean... _exactly_."

"Well, Fate-chan did say that she was a clone..."

Yuuno nodded lightly. "She said that she came here first and was told to meet me at the park."

"That was _her_!?" Nanoha shrieked out, eyes wide. "But... but...!"

"I know," Yuuno crossed his arms. "I could only tell them apart by what they were saying, and Alicia had a green ribbon instead of black down in a different hairstyle... But that's not the point. I'm concerned."

"About?"

"Vivio. Alicia obviously knows her, and Vivio didn't exactly seem pleased when she first met Fate. I mentioned it while there, but Alicia got mad and pulled Fate away."

"So she probably did do something to Vivio... but it's so hard to imagine Fate-chan's sister to be bad..."

"We don't know her. Before we find out what the deal is, I don't want her to be unsupervised. She could very well be an enemy."

Nanoha looked down at the ground, weighing her feelings. "Fate-chan's with Alicia-san now, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"For now we'll just see how it goes. I'll talk to Fate-chan when she gets back...until then, I want to keep Vivio at my side and away from Alicia-san."

"So," Alicia pondered aloud while she and Fate waited on their meal to arrive to their table. "Is my dear older sister seeing anyone?"

"Yes," Fate held up her left hand to show a ring. "Nanoha."

"Married?" Alicia leaned forward a bit to inspect the simple gold band. "I don't believe in marriage. "

"Why not?"

"What good can come from bringing the government into a relationship?"

"Tax writeoffs," Fate answered easily. "Aside from the lesser known things like devotion, love, and being committed to one person through the good times and the bad."

Alicia bit down on her straw and grinned at her sister. "Seems like you're pretty serious about it. Nanoha... That instructor at the base, right? I saw her earlier. Is that why you're there? Or are you enlisted?"

Fate hesitated. "Civilian collaborator." Changing the focus, Fate shifted the topic around on Alicia. "And you?"

"No real job you could say."

"So how do you afford those nice cars?" Fate paused her conversation as food was placed before them on the table. "Are you with someone as well?"

"Nope." The younger sister began eating, talking around her food as polity as she could. "I street race."

Fate nodded lightly. "Illegal betting, I assume?"

Alicia smiled and playfully ran her foot up Fate's leg. "Are you going to arrest me?"

"Er," blushing, Fate shook her head. "Uhm, no... I didn't catch you doing it, after all."

A happy giggle came. "Good, we have to stick together and all that." Leaning forward a bit more, Alicia licked her lips. "So… will you introduce me to your lawfully wedded wife?"

Fate felt her cheeks heat up more. "Why are you asking in that tone of voice?"

"Because, I'm interested in meeting who my sister is in love with." She winked. "It might help me find someone to rock my world."

"Ah! We... she doesn't really... I mean…" Fate stammered, trying to keep talking after getting what was implied. "We don't..." She looked down. "...That often..." She felt her words get quieter as she remembered Nanoha's insatiable sex drive.

"Really?" the girl laughed out. "We can change that, how about a three way?"

"_Alicia!?_" Fate eyed her sister who was laughing so hard she was almost crying. "Mou... don't tease me like that..."

~**~

Nanoha looked up when she heard the door open to her room. "Fate-chan?"

"I'm back," Fate called out in her normal soft tone. "Nanoha, I'd like you to meet someone."

Moving her wheelchair over to Fate, Nanoha felt herself go on alert when the twins stood in front of her. "Ah... Hello."

"Hi!" Alicia bent over to get a good look at Nanoha. "Wow, sis, way to go! She's hot!"

"Alicia!" Fate blushed yet again.

Nanoha sank back in her chair, shocked at the boldness. "I can't see why," Alicia continued, eyeing Nanoha. "That you wouldn't want to do the bunny hop with her more." She grinned at Nanoha. "Fate told me how much she wanted to ravish you, it was really cute."

"Alicia!!!" Fate pulled her sister back. "D-don't say that..."

"She's your wife, it's okay!" Alicia nodded to herself.

"Ah...Alicia...-san." Nanoha tried to shake off the words she was just told. "I'm sorry to sound rude here, but do you know a Jail Scaglietti?"

"Jail?" Alicia blinked. "Why do you ask?"

At that moment, Vivio came down the stairs while rubbing one of her eyes sleepily. "Mama... I'm hungry..." Alicia stood up straight, looking down at Vivio. The child blinked several times, looking at Fate and then Alicia each in turn before slowly taking a step back. Tears came to her eyes and her body shook in fear. "No... I don't want to go!"

Alicia crossed her arms and stared at Vivio as both Nanoha and Fate stood in front of her. "So that's why the doctor told me about you, sis."

"What do you mean?" Fate asked softly, moving to stand in front of Alicia directly.

"The person you asked me about, Jail, paid me to transport that girl there to one of his labs."

"You…" Fate shook her head. "No, you can't be working for him!"

"I don't." Alicia replied casually. "I didn't tell you the entire truth, sis." The younger sibling put a hand on her hip. "I'm a transporter. People pay me to move things for them."

"And you transported our daughter!" Nanoha snapped at her.

"Daughter?" Alicia leaned closer to Fate to peer over her shoulder. "Really?"

"Yes really!" Nanoha picked up Vivio and sat the child on her lap to hold her, on high alert.

"Huh. How about that." Alicia clicked her tongue. "Oh well, that job is over."

Fate moved to look Alicia in the eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Relax." Alicia put her hands on Fate's shoulders. "I know it's not the most legal way to make money, but you should understand. I was homeless, scared, confused, and I had to eat. I just found something I was good at. As for your daughter there, I was paid to get her into a life pod and take her to a base... That's it."

"You..." Fate shook the hands off her shoulders. "You willingly hurt an innocent _child_ to deliver her to some mad scientist!? All this time I thought that there was some mistake! that it couldn't have been you, but..."

Alicia lost her smile when Fate turned away from her. "So... you knew I did it and you still brought me here?"

"I..." Fate wiped her eyes and sniffed, not sure if it was sadness or rage making her cry. "I just knew it was a mistake... that you weren't a bad person...."

Alicia looked down at the ground, shifting in the uncomfortable silence for several moments before she took a step forward and embraced Fate from behind. "I'm sorry. I just... got used to being a bad person. I didn't think about how it would hurt anyone..."

Nanoha snorted. "How could you not? She's a _child_, Alicia-san." She held Vivio closer, eyes glaring.

"...If I had known, I swear I wouldn't have done it... please believe me, Sis..."

"... I do." Fate moved in Alicia's arms so she could face her. "But you still did it. You're working with our worst enemy..."

"I'm not." Alicia stated firmly. "And I'll prove it."

"How?" Nanoha asked dryly.

"I'll give him to you." Alicia replied simply. "I'm sure he sent me to my sister so I would see Vivio. He knows I would take the chance to make more money. He has several labs all over the city and could be at any one at any time. If I deliver a fake Vivio to him, you can all be there to witness it and bust him."

Nanoha eyed her. "Why should we trust you?"

Alicia moved from Fate and stood directly in front of Nanoha. "Because Sis and I look exactly alike. I will sit in a cell while Fate carries out the mission." Looking back at her sister, she softened her gaze. "You told me you were super strong, right? You'll be fine, won't you?"

"...Of course, but..." Fate looked at Nanoha. "We can't seriously put her in a cell!" Nanoha went to protest but Fate kept going. "_Please_ Nanoha! She's my sister! Understand!"

Nanoha looked between the two for a moment before growling. "Fine… Fine! I'll go talk to Hayate-chan." As she moved between them, she looked up at Alicia. The blonde looked back down at her before kneeling down to be eye level.

"I know I upset you," She spoke softly, looking at Vivio clinging to Nanoha. "But I didn't mean to hurt my sister's family. I'm sorry, Vivio." Looking at Nanoha, she addressed her properly. "Nanoha, I'm sorry I hurt your daughter. I really want to be with my family after being alone all these years... Can you understand that?"

Nanoha took a deep breath to steady herself. "...Yes. I understand."

"Thank you." Leaning over, she hugged the woman tightly. "I'll make it up to you. Let me make you dinner?"

Nanoha felt a small smile come on her face. "What is it about you two and food?" She watched Alicia move away from her and then looked at Fate's hopeful expression. "Okay... you can stay here for a while."

"Thank you, Nanoha!" Both twins spoke at the same time and Fate gave the girl a tight hug. "Really, thank you for giving her a chance." She whispered into Nanoha's ear softly. "It means a lot to me."

"I know," Nanoha whispered back. "I'll do anything for you... I guess that's why I understand her wanting to do the same."

"Nanoha..." Fate shifted to rest her forehead against her friend's. "Hearing that really makes me happy."

Alicia nudged Fate. "Go on, give her some tongue so she can be on her way."

"Alicia!" Fate shot up straight. "H-how can you change moods so fast!?"

Nanoha blushed darkly, but still looked up at Fate. "Some tongue? What did you tell her about me?"

Alicia answered first. "She said you rock her world and make her legs quiver--"

"Not in front of Vivio!" Fate scolded.

Alicia grinned. "I was lying, but you seem more concerned about your daughter hearing the truth than calling me on it." She smirked. "You really are my sister, after all."

Nanoha felt her heart skip a beat when Fate looked at her again, cheeks red and hair frizzing out. "C-come on, sis!" Fate yelped while escorting Alicia to the door.

"Nice meeting you!" Alicia called out as she was pushed away. "Please take care of my sister!"

"Alicia!"

Nanoha watched the door close before looking down at Vivio, who seemed so confused she couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to cry or not. "Vivio," Nanoha soothed her gently. "Alicia-san is sorry for scaring you... I think she may be a nice person after all, but just so you know... I will never let anything happen to you okay?"

"...Okay... Mama." Vivio hugged Nanoha again and held onto her.

'_Now to go talk to Hayate-chan and work out some way to bring in a highly dangerous criminal..._'

~**~

"I can't wait to take a nice hot bath," Alicia spoke while walking next to her sister. "After a long day of running around with you, I could use some rest and relaxation."

"The bath here is really large," Fate told her contently. "There are shower stalls, but also a Japanese-style bath. Hayate grew up in Japan and she had a say in how her base was built."

"Japanese style?" Alicia blinked. "What do you mean?"

Fate smiled at her. "You'll see. Here's the showers."

"What are we going to change into?" Alicia pondered while looking around at the stalls and then the huge soaking area. "Oh wow."

"Oh, I forgot about clothes," the older sister realized. "Here, go ahead and get clean and soak, I'll run get us something."

"Okay," Alicia watched Fate jog off a moment before going into the bathhouse section. Clothes were stripped down and placed in a small cubical section for them, then she walked to the bath area first, grinning as she saw a wheelchair not far from a soaking Nanoha. "Well hello there."

Nanoha jumped lightly, turning to look at Alicia. "Fate-chan, you startled me."

"… I'm sorry," Alicia smirked, walking the rest of the way to the girl. "Enjoying your bath?"

"Yes, it was a stressful day." Nanoha sighed out and sank down lower into the water, bringing the towel over her breasts up a little more.

"Don't hide," Alicia teased her, sitting down on the side of the large tub so only her feet were in the water. "I want to enjoy your lovely body."

"Fa-Fate-chan!?" Nanoha blushed hard. "Don't say things like that."

"It's okay; there isn't anyone else here right now…" Alicia scooted closer to Nanoha and leaned forward a bit. "Know what I would really like to help me relax after today?"

"Wha…what?" Nanoha looked at her skeptically.

"Just you," Alicia told her softly, one hand going to touch Nanoha's cheek. "Tonight… let's be intimate, okay? Nothing better to melt away the stress of the day than being with the one you love, ne?"

"Ah...I…" Nanoha was spared having to answer when Alicia stood up. "Fate-chan?"

"I'm going to clean up, Alicia-oneechan will be here soon as well." With that, she walked from the bath area and to the shower stalls just as Fate came into the room. "Hey, get some clothes?"

"I did," Fate answered simply. "Decided to wait on me?"

"Mm, I'll do your hair." Alicia grinned, pushing Fate to the stalls.

~**~

"Nanoha," Fate's word made the girl look over at her from her spot on the bed. "You seem a little distant." The blonde walked over to her. "Is it because Alicia is staying at the base? Hayate has my room under surveillance, and Vivio is staying with her tonight with all of her guardians playing bodyguard. There's no way she'll be in danger."

"No, it's not that… well not entirely." Nanoha sighed softly. "Today was just… really weird."

"Yeah," Fate sat down next to her friend. "Really stressful on some parts, huh?"

Nanoha stiffened. '_Is she trying to talk about what she said earlier?_' Shyly she looked over at Fate, who seemed content just sitting with her. "Uhm, yes… really stressful…"

Stretching out, Fate let out a pleased moan as her back popped. "I really need to unwind a bit. So much going on, it's hard to keep thinking straight."

'_She's hinting at it!_' Nanoha fidgeted, recalling the words spoken to her. _'She wants to, but is too shy to do anything because she's not sure how I feel? Is that why she ran away after saying it earlier?_' Carefully she moved her hand over to Fate's, placing it on top of hers and finding their fingers instantly interlaced. "Fate…-chan?"

"Hm?" Fate looked over at her happily. "What is it?"

"I…was just thinking…" blushing, she scooted closer. "How happy I am that you're here."

"Oh?" Red eyes looked at Nanoha curiously.

"Yes… I just… don't feel as alone anymore…You know?"

"Mmn," Fate bumped against Nanoha's side playfully. "I know, I can tell in the way you've been acting… I've only been here a few weeks but you've really seemed to warm up to me… I'm happy."

Nanoha nervously moved her fingers along Fate's, taking comfort in the fact that her friend didn't pull away. "Uhm… Fate-chan?" She got a curious hum again and a soft smile. "Really… you being here… right here… really makes me happy…"

Fate felt her cheeks darken. "I'm glad to know I could make your life a little better."

Realizing that Fate wasn't taking the hint, Nanoha took a small breath to try again. "I mean… you make me happy… Fate-chan." Leaning over against Fate more, she made them both fall over so she was lying halfway on top of her. "Ever since you came… I've felt like I was needed… Like I could do something for somebody else. I wanted to know about you, and it made me so happy when you told me things, that you would listen to my stories as well." Moving a hand to Fate's face, she traced her cheek with two fingers. "I know I jumped the gun at the start, but I learned that things don't happen instantly like that… which is why I felt so bad about it."

"Nanoha?" Fate looked at her, confused.

"So… so I want to do this properly." Pushing up with her free hand, Nanoha moved on top of Fate some more. "I want to be intimate with you, as myself… So you can see the real me, and I can learn more about the real you…" Smiling down at her, Nanoha moved forward to kiss her, eyes fluttering closed.

"Wait," Fate quickly turned her head so the kiss missed. "Nanoha, what's gotten into you?"

"Eh?" Pulling back lightly, Nanoha blinked down at Fate. "What do you mean?" Her voice was obviously hurt at the sudden rejection. "You said you wanted it too… it made my heart beat so fast when you told me you loved me."

"I… I what?" Fate shook her head. "Nanoha… what? I'm married, I have a family… I… I love Nanoha, my Nanoha…"

"But… but you said… in the bath before Alicia-san came in--"

"Alicia went in first; I went to get us clothes." The two girls looked at each other as realization washed over their faces. "She… She talked to you, didn't she?" Nanoha moved off of Fate and turned away, holding a hand to her chest. Her slate blue eyes were wide, moistened lightly around the edges. "Nanoha…" Fate sat up as well and placed her hands onto her friend's shoulders. "What did she say?"

"She… She said she wanted to be intimate with me… You… you and me…"

Fate tried to absorb this information. "She thinks you're my wife like everyone else does, you know I wouldn't want to…" Her words trailed off slowly as she started to understand the situation.

"But I obviously do," Nanoha whispered, making the room go into an awkward silence.

Fate stayed still, looking at the back of her lover from another universe. The blurred line from platonic friend and curiosity had obviously been breached, leaving them sitting on the bed they shared together. "Nanoha…I--"

"You don't have to say it," Nanoha cut her off sadly. "I was wrong; I'm sorry."

Fate looked down at the sheets, replaying the scene over in her mind again and again. The look of love in Nanoha's eyes, the sincerity in her voice, and the warmth of her breath that came so dangerously close to her lips. "I… I think I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight." Her friend didn't say anything in return. Slowly Fate picked two pillows to take with her and crawled over the side of the bed, glancing back once at the girl who was obviously fighting back tears. "Sweet dreams, Nanoha," Fate told her as softly as she could. When nothing came back, she turned and walked down the ramp leading to the living room. The couch was sat on and the throw blanket on the back was pulled down to drape over her shoulders. Upstairs a small gasp of air came and Fate tried her best to block out the sounds of Nanoha trying not to cry. '_Now what do I do…?_'


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: My standard page breaks work again for some reason. So ~**~ will be used to separate sections and scene changes in the story. Why it worked before, stopped, and is now working again, I don't know. Sorry for the inconvenience. We are closing in on the end of this story; there is one chapter after this one, then the epilogue. If you are enjoying this story, please let me know.

~**~

When the morning light woke me from my restless sleep, I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling above me. I heard soft snoring sounds coming from downstairs and last night's events lingered on my mind even more than before. I had made a huge mistake, and I felt as if I was going to throw up just thinking about it. After taking a deep breath, I rubbed my sore eyes to remove the remains of dried tears. I took a moment to steady myself and forced my body to move before I changed my mind. After claiming my wheelchair, I went downstairs to Fate and gently shook her shoulder.

**AlternativeS VII  
By: Satashi**

"Wake up," Nanoha's soft voice requested of her sleeping friend. "Fate-chan?" Red eyes slowly opened and she gave a weak smile for them. "You need to meet with Yuuno-kun, remember?" Fate blinked a few times and then nodded while pulling herself up to sit properly. "Hey... Fate-chan?" The blond looked down at the girl next to her and Nanoha felt her stomach turn in knots. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry for what I did."

"...Yeah." Fate rubbed her eyes and the bridge of her nose. "Its okay; Alicia--"

"No," Nanoha shook her head. "Regardless, I let my feelings win over rational thinking. I used what she said as an excuse to lie to myself to make it seem okay... I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

The honest tone in her friend's voice made Fate soften. "Apology accepted. Thank you for understanding... I know I don't have to but I'd feel a lot better saying this..." The girl let Nanoha nod before continuing. "I love my wife, and my family. I know you are her in a different world and all but... I'm faithful to her, and I know she will understand what happened. On my wife's behalf, I want to say that she would forgive you as well."

"...Thank you." Nanoha hung her head for a moment before nodding. "I know apologizing won't make it right, but I hope we can still be friends while you're here."

"Yes," Fate reached out and took Nanoha's hand. "Of course."

Feeling the awkward sensation course through her, Nanoha took her hand back and placed it on the red orb to control her chair. "Well, I'll go get dressed. You need to contact your sister and Yuuno-kun, 'kay?"

"Mmn," Fate nodded yet again and watched the girl move away from her. Once clear from sight, Fate let out a soft sigh, rubbing her temples. '_The next few days are going to be really awkward..._'

Fate couldn't help but give a small smile when she saw her sister slowly sitting up in bed. She had allowed her twin to sleep in her normal assigned room, which was now being monitored once again. Even though Fate knew that Hayate was just being cautious, the feeling of being watched by her friends still left an uneasy feeling in the girl's stomach. "Good morning," Fate finally greeted when Alicia seemed awake enough to realize where she was.

The sleepy girl looked at the clock in the room and made a snorting sound. "I didn't even know there _was_ a six in the morning," she complained only half serious.

"For all the trouble you caused yesterday, coming with me now is the least you could do."

Alicia blinked at Fate before rubbing her eyes. "I must still be sleeping, what did I do yesterday?"

"Nanoha, in the bath."

"Oh," Alicia grinned. "Did you have a fun time last night?"

Fate took a deep breath to steady herself. "Nanoha and I aren't really married."

"...What?"

Moving to sit on the side of the bed, Fate leaned forward a bit and looked at the floor. "This is going to sound a little weird, but stay with me." A quick glance let her see her sister nod. "I didn't tell you this before because I was so happy to finally meet you... I didn't want to push you away."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm... not really from this world."

Alicia clicked her tongue. "I'm not either, really, considering I grew up on another planet until I was about nine or so."

"No, I mean..." Fate moved her hands in an attempt to help her find the right words. "I'm from an alternate reality...One from where you had originally died." The girl took the silence as a request to continue her story. "You see, somehow I was brought to this world and found that I had originally died back in the past. At the same time, you somehow survived."

"...Okay, that is a little weird." Alicia moved so she was sitting next to Fate. "So you're saying you're from another universe?"

"Timeline, universe, world, whatever you want to call it."

"...How did you get here?"

"I don't know." Fate turned to look at Alicia and brought up a hand to touch her cheek.

_A gloved hand reached forward to touch the glass tube in front of it. The greenish liquid surrounded a sleeping girl inside of it, hair floating around her due to the random bubbles moving around. The hand moved to wipe away dust from the glass, but jerked back when her touch made the capsule activate. The girl's eyes opened, showing crimson even through the liquid.  
_  
"Sis!?" Alicia shook Fate's shoulders, snapping the girl back to reality. "What happened? you suddenly blanked out on me."

"I...sorry." Fate put a hand to her face. "I... had a flashback... I think."

"Flashback?" Alicia blinked a few more times before sighing. "Great, my sister is a nut case." Standing, she stretched out to make herself wake up more. "Tell me more over some coffee; I'm still too tired to understand all this." Looking back at Fate, she smirked. "You're one interesting girl, sis."

~**~

"...And that brings you to right now," Fate finished her story.

"...Wow," Alicia leaned back in her chair and looked at her sister sitting across the table. "And I thought I had it rough growing up on the streets..." She watched Fate take a small sip of her coffee. "So they are trying to get you back home?"

"Yes," Fate nodded slightly. "I normally spend my mornings with Yuuno, or the afternoons if he doesn't need me there. He said he has an idea on what happened, but without my memories leading up to the event, he's almost working blind on it."

"And that was a flashback you had earlier? Did you remember anything important?"

Fate sighed softly. "I remember a little bit, but it's so foggy... I'll tell Yuuno when I go see him, maybe he will understand a little more."

Alicia hummed to herself and went to take another drink before stopping. "Wait a minute, I just remembered, you said that Nanoha wasn't your wife... So that means last night...?"

The older sister blushed and looked away slightly. "That was a real big problem."

"I see..." Alicia grinned despite herself. "I'm sorry."

"You don't sound sorry," Fate accused, a little upset.

"Well you lied to me first, so we're even." Alicia countered with a chuckle. "I was just trying to help out my sister, so this was technically your fault."

Fate tried to say something to denounce the fact, but shortly had to admit to herself that she had, indeed, caused most of what happened. "...Yeah. I just wish I realized it earlier. Poor Nanoha..."

"Whoa, this girl tried to make you cheat on your wife and you say poor _Nanoha_? She deserves what she got, even if I did egg her on to do it."

"No," Fate shook her head. "I know Nanoha, even if she isn't the one I grew up with... I can tell, she's so desperate and sad...She had a moment of weakness, and caved into her desires. Even if we did do something last night, I feel deep down that she would feel just as bad as she does this morning about it."

"From what you told me, and what I saw, I think she would want you to stay with her."

"...I know she would, but it doesn't mean she wouldn't feel bad. All at once, her world turned upside down. She has a child to look after now, and she latched on to someone so fast it made her blind to so many things... And now she suddenly crashed into a wall... I can't imagine how she feels right now."

"Its not very pleasant," Nanoha's voice made Fate jump in her seat, almost dropping her mug. The blonde turned to look to the side and saw Nanoha there with Vivio next to her. "Fate-chan, Yuuno-kun wanted me to tell you he needs to see you in the research room."

"O-okay..." Fate stood and knew she was blushing at having been caught in the act. Alicia stood as well and asked if she could come along as well. After agreeing, the girl looked down at Nanoha again and tried to think of something to say.

"Its okay," Nanoha replied in a soft, sad voice. "I need to go, I promised Vivio some breakfast." Turning to look at the small girl, Nanoha tried her best to put on a smile for her. "Ready, Vivio?"

"Mmn!" The girl nodded happily.

Yuuno looked over his shoulder when he heard the door to his room slide open. Upon seeing two blondes come in, he gave a slight frown, wishing to only have Fate there at the moment. "Good morning," he greeted both of them. "Before anything else, who is who?"

"Fate," Fate raised her hand embarrassingly while simultaneously making sure Alicia didn't play another prank. "Any news, Yuuno?" When she noticed his eyes looking at Alicia, she spoke up again. "I told her everything."

Yuuno groaned. "Fate, I can tell you're a trusting person, but this is something that seriously needs to be kept between as few people as possible. If the wrong person got ahold of this knowledge then the results could be catastrophic.

Alicia cocked an eyebrow. "You saying I'm a bad person?"

"Your record speaks for itself, Thunderbird," Yuuno countered smoothly.

"Did your homework, I see." Alicia crossed her arms. "But this is my sister, I won't sell her out so easily."

Fate looked at Alicia curiously. "Thunderbird?"

"My alias," Alicia replied simply, shrugging. "You think I give people my real name and contact information for transporting jobs?" She snorted at the thought.

"Anyway," Fate tried to push the uneasiness aside, "what's new, Yuuno?"

The male sighed before giving in, turning to bring up a monitor to display information. "The good news is, like you know, this isn't the first time this incident has occurred. Normally the variance between exiting folded space is only in the matter of seconds, the most extreme case being a few hours."

Fate nodded at hearing this. "But that doesn't explain how I crossed universes."

"Let me get there," Yuuno chided her absently while he swapped pages of data. "Okay, here, this is a normal frequency for travel." A pictograph that resembled sound waves came up for them to look at. "And here is a sample taken from the park where you woke up at." Another image came up, showing a flickering stream.

"So there's a distortion?" Alicia asked aloud.

"An overlapping frequency to be exact. Fate, remember back on Earth, when you would listen to the radio and how other stations would bleed into it?" He got a nod. "Consider this to be like that. Your world crosses ours at this point. Where you came from on your side could be different, so if you can remember anything at all to help link these two together, it would help tremendously."

Fate rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I remember seeing a life tube... and touching it..." The girl shook her head. "But that doesn't make any sense! The only place on record that would have the required material would be--" He words stopped when she looked at her twin sister. "...Oh my god..."

"Fate?" Yuuno walked over to her. "Fate, what is it?"

"The Garden of Time," Fate almost whispered.

"The Garden of what now?" Yuuno asked.

Alicia put her hands on Fate's shoulders. "Our home? Do you know anything about it?"

Fate shook her head, trying to clear it so she could focus better. "I... I remember being at my desk... Getting a call from Nanoha... She said... She said a group found the Garden of Time while patrolling. We happened upon it by chance, and it was almost all destroyed but... that's right..." Fate began to pace. "Nanoha and I went there; we were in our jackets just in case the security system still worked... I split off with her and found the remains of where my mother always was. I went back behind the area and found the relic that the patrol ship picked up, along with..." Her red eyes turned to Alicia. "Myself..."

"Yourself?" Alicia blinked.

"Well, a version of myself, another Fate... I guess if I failed, then mother would try again... Only this time with a relic instead of the Jewel Seeds." The woman had to sit down, leaning forward as her memories started clicking in place. "I touched the capsule, and the relic activated... The pod exploded and the Garden started collapsing around us... I grabbed the relic to seal it, but I guess some debris hit me and knocked me out... when I woke up, I was here."

Yuuno rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, Relics are powerful, and there are many that are unorganized. If your mother, Precia I believe her name was, wanted to make a perfect clone of her daughter, then pulling her from another universe would be the best option."

Alicia shook her head. "No, I remember mother, she wasn't the type to--"

"She changed," Fate cut her sister off. "When you died, it broke her. She cloned you and made me, and when I didn't meet her desires, she was prepared to try again."

Yuuno nodded in agreement. "If that relic was designed to pull Alicia from this world into your original one, then I can only suppose it didn't work as intended. Instead, it sent you to this one. If that were the case, then it would have a sister-relic here as well, emitting the same frequency that it does."

Alicia scratched her head. "Wait, you lost me here."

"Basically," Fate spoke up, looking at Yuuno to confirm her thoughts. "There had to be a link between our two worlds, one that synced with the person who activated the relic. When I turned it on in my world, it sent me to this one thanks to my mother's tampering... which means..."

Yuuno picked up where she left off. "The relic in this world would be the exact opposite of the one in yours. If we got ahold of it then I could set the specifics and..." He trailed off, grinning.

"Send me back home!" Fate moved from her seat and gave Yuuno a tight, thankful hug. "Oh Yuuno, you're amazing!"

"Wait a moment!" Alicia yelled slightly to get their attention. "You're looking for a specific relic? There are countless relics, and even more that aren't registered; how in the world will you get your hands on this specific one?"

"Easy," Fate answered with a smile. "The fact that Erio is with Jail right now means that he knows about Project F. For Erio to be alive means that somebody, somewhere, at some time, picked up my mother's research. If that was the case, then Jail would more than likely have said relic at his base."

"How did you make that connection?" Yuuno put a hand on his hip.

"In my world, Jail collected Relics in order to take control of the T.S.A.B. He had artificial life cyborgs created to help him with this task. For him to start research on them, and develop Project Fate, then he would have had to have his hands on a relic at one point in time. Seeing as how I wasn't here to influence the T.S.A.B to keep an eye out for the Garden of Time, it makes sense to think that Jail somehow found it and picked it up--"

"Getting that relic along the way," Alicia finished in understanding. "So that means we just have to get that Relic."

"Exactly," Fate confirmed.

Yuuno crossed his arms. "Well, Alicia, it looks like your connection with Jail will have some use after all."

~**~

"So that's how it is," Hayate mused at hearing the story. Leaning back in her desk chair, she put her hands together in thought. The three blonds in the room allowed the commander to dwell on this a few moments, waiting eagerly to hear the response. "For now," Hayate finally spoke, "I want Yuuno and Fate to go back to the research area and work out some more details. Report back to me when you have more solid evidence. In the mean time, Alicia-san, I would like to have a word with you."

Alicia glanced over at her sister before giving a curt nod. The two friends left the office together and she walked up to stand in front of Hayate's desk directly. "What's up?"

Hayate disregarded the lack of formal speech and instead brought up a monitor to send to the girl. "As you may have guessed," she began while Alicia looked over the criminal record report, "I did my research on you, Thunderbird."

Alicia seemed amused. "Didn't take you long at all; I'm impressed." Alicia curiously flipped through the records, almost laughing as she recalled doing the things listed. "So what now, you going to arrest me?"

"Actually," Hayate replied while looking at her. "I'd like to cut a deal with you."

"Oh?" Alicia closed the monitor down after storing a copy of it in her device. "What kind of deal?"

"I'd be willing to make all that go away, if you co-operate with us." Hayate replied simply. "Completely removed, as if it were never there. A fresh start."

"Not that I care about having a record, but what's the catch? I already agreed to help you with Scaglietti."

"You are fast, and are linked to so many underground circles it actually impresses me. In all your time, you have never been caught nor positively identified."

"Thank you."

Hayate blinked, not really meaning that as a compliment. Picking up where she left off, she continued. "So, my proposal to you, is for you to join me after this mission is over."

"And help you bring down the people I work for," Alicia added on.

"Exactly."

"Sorry, no can do." The woman shrugged simply. "Scaglietti is one thing, but the others have my respect."

"Honor amongst thieves?"

Alicia nodded. "Something like that."

Hayate felt rather flustered from the response and disregarded protocol by not letting the deal drop. "Why are you so hard-headed? I'm offering you a chance to live normally!"

"Once my sister is gone, I have no reason to be normal." The blonde answered, voice starting to show sadness in it. "When she leaves, this place will become meaningless, and I'll be alone again..."

Hayate grabbed the chance and held on. "Don't be silly. This deal comes with a job."

"A job?" Alicia's interest was perked. "Not just using my information?"

"No, I want you on my _team_. Training here under Nanoha, learning how to live the correct way with a real job that pays well. We hunt for lost technology that is being misused, as well as train many different types of squads. As I said, you are fast... Fast enough to be my personal retrieval agent."

"A 'Get Backer', huh?" Alicia crossed her arms and leaned her head back while thinking about it. "From a transporter to a retriever..." Her head titled slightly to look at Hayate with one eye. "And if this operation fails? Will you throw this deal away as well as use the chance to capture me?"

"If I wanted to capture you, I would have already."

Alicia smirked. "I like you."

"Why, thank you."

Turning to face Hayate directly, Alicia gave a playful salute. "Well then, commander, you just got yourself one soldier who will give you countless headaches and property damage reports."

Hayate chuckled nervously, feeling as if the woman wasn't actually joking. "A-ah... Thank you. You can go back to your friends now, I will call for you again once we have a more solid idea of exactly what we will be doing."

"Till then," Alicia grinned. Turning, her long hair flew out behind her, and Hayate noticed that her hairstyle now mimicked Fate's exactly, minus the ribbon color.

When the door closed, Hayate leaned back in her chair again. '_I guess finding your family really can change a person..._' Her desk drawer was opened and she took out a small photo album. Turning it to the last page, she smiled fondly at the picture of Reinforce before the woman willingly ended her own life to prevent the Book of Darkness from going berserk once more.

Vivio looked over at Nanoha once more before finally moving out of her chair and walking around the small table so she could stand next to the woman who was now looking at her. "Nanoha-mama... Does your tummy hurt or something?"

"Eh?" Nanoha blinked at the random question.

"Because... you're not smiling. I don't like it when mama isn't smiling..."

Nanoha looked at the girl in shock for a few moments before her eyes watered slightly. Reaching over, she picked up the child and sat the girl onto her lap. "Thank you, Vivio, but mama is doing fine. I'm just a little... preoccupied."

Vivio tilted her head curiously. "Preoccupied?"

"It means... I have something on my mind that is taking a lot of my attention."

"Is it... a bad thing?"

Nanoha tried to answer as best she could. "It's not a _good_ thing, but it's not as bad as it could have been... Fate-chan is so understanding it really hurts."

Vivio tried to absorb this. "Aunt Fate and Nanoha-mama had a fight?"

Not sure how to explain her situation to the girl, Nanoha simply smiled as best she could. "A-ah, something like that. I feel bad about it."

"So..." Vivio looked at her mother innocently. "Trying to make it better is what counts...right?"

"...Yeah," Nanoha hugged her close. "You're such a good girl, Vivio." The combination of hug and praise made the young girl laugh happily and hug her mother back as tightly as she could. '_Making it better... I wonder how my other self would handle this situation if the roles were revered..._' The thought of actually having a wife and daughter for many years and then suddenly being alone all at once made her almost physically wince. '_If that were me, I'd want everyone to do everything in their power to return Fate-chan to me--_' The thought made her hug Vivio closer and fight back tears. '_I'm the worst..._'

"Nanoha!" The sound of the familiar voice made the girl in the wheelchair sit up at once and wipe her eyes.

"Hello," Nanoha turned to look over her shoulder at Yuuno and Fate. "Yuuno-kun, good morning." When Fate got closer, Nanoha moved to check the color of the ribbon. "Fate-chan, hello."

"Hello," Fate's words were soft, just like always.

No disgust was in the tone, making Nanoha almost wish that she were upset instead of being so kind and thoughtful. "Uhm, how is the research going on your predicament?"

Fate smiled brightly at the question. "We actually have a huge lead on a way to get me back. Yuuno has been working with amazing speed once we figured out we could use a relic to reverse what happened. Basically its only a matter of getting a specific relic and then adjusting a teleporation spell to protect me when I go through the rift."

Nanoha looked at Yuuno with wide eyes. "Really!?"

The male nodded. "Yeah, without the relic it would be near impossible to ensure she would end up in her own time line, or even _when_ in it. My work up until now was just figuring out how to send her. Now that the second half of the equation was practically solved for me, I can almost guarantee Fate a safe trip home only a few days after we get the relic."

"But wait," Nanoha held up a hand to get their attention again. "You said it was a specific relic? How in the world are we going to get a specific one? Do we have it in storage here?"

"Unfortunately no," Yuuno shook his head. Nanoha and I checked as soon as we left Hayate's office this morning, just in case it was among one of the ones we recovered from our previous skirmishes with Scaglietti."

"However," Fate picked up. "The odds that Scaglietti has it is almost certain. I know because of what happened in my world: Erio was a troubled child who went berserk after finding out he was a clone. For him to be with Scaglietti now means that the doctor has given him a reason to be there. In other words, he's using Erio's desperate struggle to find out who or what he is in order to get the boy to work for him. If that's the case, then the relics relating to Project Fate would be stored at one of his bases so Erio could have access to it."

"Erio..." Nanoha thought back on the name. "I recall him, he has been in battles before, over relics. He has two summoners with him, who can give him insane amounts of power in the form of different styles of armor. They call them the Trinity, or Triforce..." Her hands went around Vivio to hold the girl still in her lap when the bored child started swinging her legs. "So that means you will have to face them as well?"

Fate nodded. "Against Scaglietti, the Trinity, and any cyborgs, if they are activated. Not to mention anything else that was different from my timeline." With a sigh, she looked down at the table. "Even with me being so powerful, I don't know how well I will be against the children... they are just being misled."

"Not to mention the army protecting Scaglietti," Yuuno added in. This won't be just a simple raid, it will have to be an attempt to capture him. Nanoha, are your students able to go against this kind of power?"

Nanoha shook her head sadly. "No..." After thinking a few more moments, she added in her thoughts. "Subaru and Teana are the only ones who have started to show unbelievable amount of potential... With their AI devices, they have started training every day after I have my lessons with them... I can't recommend sending them into deep battle, but as members of a force, I can see them doing fine."

Yuuno nodded. "Thank you, but its still not enough..." His eyes looked at Nanoha, who almost cried out in a regretful moan.

"What?" Fate asked, shocked at the sudden atmosphere around them.

Yuuno put his palm against his face. "We're going to have to ask Lexus for help..."

Fate knew that the man was going to enjoy this, but she didn't expect him to be a complete jerk over it. In front of her friends sat Lexus behind his desk with his feet casually kicked up on it. A large, sickening, smirk was on his face, and he asked the question once more, just to hear Hayate say it again. "We," Hayate tried not to growl, "would like to request your assistance in a raid against Jail Scaglietti."

"That's what I thought you said," Lexus mused, making Hayate grip her fists. "This is the same person that you have always been so insistent on catching, right? So why are you asking for help now?"

"We have an inside source," Hayate continued. "That can give us the location of where he is, as well as his main base where he stores relics. With a joint effort, we can accomplish this with minimal damage."

"I see," Lexus kicked back and stood, walking around his desk and sitting on the front of it while looking at the small group. "So, what will I get from lending you my people, who could possibly be hurt?"

Before Hayate could say anything, Fate stepped forward. "I will transfer to your base. I'm sure you know by now that my official ranking test placed me at double S. This should more than cover any debt."

Lexus whistled lightly. "So you are using this to get away from the weak group of people and come over to me, huh?" Fate nodded at him but didn't say anything else. "Well, I can't let my fans down. If she wants to be with me so badly, I guess I have no choice. But tell me, didn't you say you had a wife?"

Fate almost flinched at the words, catching the hidden statement in it. "We are currently arguing."

Lexus smirked. "Well then, I'll draw up the paperwork and have it sent over. Let me know when your plan will go through, Commander." The people in front of him nodded and turned to the door. "See you soon, Babe," Lexus grinned, slapping Fate on the rear as she left.

Once the group made it outside the neighboring base and back into the van that brought them there, Hayate finally addressed Fate. "Thank you, Fate-chan."

The blond nodded, looking out the window with still tinted cheeks. "You're doing this for me anyway. The least I can do is put up with the pervert for a few days after it is over... though I can't promise I won't break his hand if he touches me again." The way she said the words made it clear that it wasn't a joke, and everyone went silent after that in an unspoken understanding of how much the blonde was offended.

Nanoha leaned towards Yuuno a bit in the back seat, enough to make the man put an arm around her while she fiddled with the gem version of Raising Heart around her neck. "What's wrong?" he asked softly so no one else could hear them over the faintly playing radio.

The girl shook her head and leaned against him more, trying to take comfort in the familiar embrace. '_What I did was no better than Lexus..._'

~**~

Alicia looked over at her twin as she was approached, a sly grin on her face. "You seem positively pissed off; did that guy turn down the offer?"

"No," Fate shook her head and sat at the table Alicia was waiting at. "He agreed, but got a little too friendly with me."

"Oh?" She grinned at her. "That's right; you said so yourself that you and your wife didn't fool around much, so I bet that really rubbed you the wrong way, pun intended."

Fate couldn't help but laugh and cough at the same time, looking at her sister in shock. "Not very sensitive, are you?"

"Nope, but hey," Alicia put her arm around her sister and gave her a half hug. "Growing up on the streets will do that to you. I'm a little desensitized to it."

"Oh... I see."

Alicia slid closer, grinning at Fate. "Unless you wanna... you know?"

Fate shrieked and quickly jumped away, panting hard and covering her chest with her hand as Alicia laughed it up. "S-sis! Don't even _joke_ about that!" When her sister continued to laugh, Fate huffed and sat back down, still blushing.

"But," the woman managed out between hiccups of laughter. "You feel better now, right?"

Fate went to deny the fact, but seeing the sparkle in her sister's eyes, she smiled lightly. "Yes, a little." Giving the twin some time to finish calming down, Fate accepted a sip from her soda and made a funny expression at the taste. "Diet?"

"Hey, it tastes good," the younger one protested.

"Anyway," Fate gave the soda back. "I'm sorry the made you sit here by the training field while we were gone."

"Yeah, I haven't proved myself yet." The girl didn't seem to mind being watched over and kept a safe distance away from Vivio at all times. "But Hayate offered me a place here on the base."

"Really? that's wonderful!"

"Yeah..." Alicia made the can in her grip roll across the table in slow, half circles. "Hey, Sis?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you stay here?" she asked softly. "This world could really use you and... it's not one hundred percent guaranteed you can even make it back to your specific timeline, right?"

Fate stayed quiet a moment, clearly understanding the meaning behind the question. "I'm sorry, I can't... I have my whole life there. I have a wife, a child, and all my friends." Selfishly, she turned to her sister again. "Come with me."

"Trying to cross dimensions? There's no way." Alicia shook her head. "We could appear anywhere, even in space, and just die," she snapped her fingers. "Just like that."

"I trust Yuuno."

Alicia looked down again. "I'm sorry, this just feels like suicide... please, at least think about it? Promise?"

Fate closed her eyes sadly. "I'm sorry, I can't."

The younger twin looked forward again, not speaking for a while. "Yeah... I guess not, huh?"

"I'm sorry." Silence passed over them once again, hanging in the air as each one thought about their future away from each other once again.

Nanoha looked over as the door to her room opened after a gentle tapping sound. When Fate walked in, she gave the girl a soft smile. "Hey, Fate-chan..."

"Hey," Fate could feel the awkwardness of the room and rubbed her hands together.

"Um, would you like to take a shower first?" The girl offered politely.

"No thank you... Actually," Fate paused when Vivio came up to her and bowed.

"Welcome home, Aunt Fate," She spoke happily.

"A-ah," Fate bowed back. "Thank you." Raising herself, she smiled at Vivio's manners. "You're such a good girl." The remark made Vivio laugh and then excuse herself to return to her coloring book. "Nanoha, um, I'm going to stay with Alicia tonight, is that okay?"

Nanoha felt her hands stop preparing dinner at once. Not turning back to look at Fate, she answered as casually as she could. "Of course, don't be silly."

"...Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Nanoha called back, forcing a laugh. "Really, you're so strange. That is your room after all, you know?"

"Y-yeah." Fate looked at Nanoha's back for a few moments before walking over to the girl. Without saying anything about the slightly moist blue eyes, Fate simply bent over and hugged the girl's neck. "It's okay. Really."

Nanoha lifted a hand to grip Fate's sleeve. "I'm so, so sorry... I was wrong--"

"I already told you," Fate whispered back so Vivio wouldn't overhear, "that I forgave you. It was a misunderstanding, and was also my fault for not realizing it sooner."

"Would she..." Nanoha had to force her eyes not to water. "Would she really forgive... something like this?"

"If you feel this bad about it, then I can promise you she would." Fate kissed Nanoha's temple softly. "Its in the past, I don't want you sad the last few days I am here."

"... Okay," Nanoha's voice broke. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Fate wanted to stay and support Nanoha, who was obviously about to cry, but forced herself to pull away to give her privacy. "Tomorrow it is." With those words, she went back to the door and looked over her shoulder once more before leaving the girl alone.

Once the blonde made it back to her room, she opened the door and saw Alicia already on the bed, wearing see-through lingerie. "I take it you made the trip back to your place without any incidents?" She asked curiously, eying the underwear that she found rather pleasant in her own taste.

"Yeah, it's not too far if you know how to drive it."

Fate laughed nervously while undressing. "Please don't break any more laws; you have a chance to start anew."

"I was only kidding... mostly." Alicia grinned at Fate and got a smile back. Watching her sister change, she put on a catlike smile when the the girl sat on the bed. "You always turn in so early?"

"No, I'm just really exhausted. I didn't sleep well at all last night, and today was a little stressful. If you want to stay up, feel free; you won't bother me."

"No, it's okay," Alicia cut off the lights by tapping a brought up monitor. When Fate slid under the covers along with her, she snuggled against her twin's back and draped an arm over her. "Do you like to be cuddled?"

"Mmn," Fate closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling. "Very much so."

Alicia leaned closer to Fate's ear and whispered into it. "Want a massage?"

"That would be lovely, actually." She felt hands slide along her stomach and move up to her breasts. "But I will gratefully turn down your request."

"Come on, sis... it's called 'wincest' for a reason."

"Goodnight, Alicia."

"Mou," Alicia pouted and shifted slightly, still holding onto Fate. "You're lucky I'm tired; I'd have teased you good."

Fate giggled, happily holding Alicia's hand over her stomach. "Sweet dreams, Sis."

"You too, sis." Alicia buried her nose in Fate's hair and smiled brightly to herself. "Hey... one more thing?"

"Yes?" Fate asked curiously, getting comfortable.

"If... If I say 'I love you'... would that be okay?"

Fate felt her heart flutter, having one of her life-long dreams finally come true. "I love you too, Alicia." She heard a happy sound and then a hug came from behind. '_Hearing you say that... really means a lot, __Sis._' Fate closed her eyes and felt herself drift off to sleep, happier than she had ever felt in a long, long time.


	8. Chapter 8

Normally I was a rational person, being able to sit in a meeting for hours on end while juggling many different topics without so much as looking at my notes... My current situation, however, was giving me mixed signals. On one hand, I finally had my sister... On the other, I missed my family back home. I wanted to return so desperately that it was driving me crazy now that we were so close, but when Alicia smiled at me I felt a family love from her so great that it made me want to break down and cry at the thought of leaving her. These feelings made the past three days exceedingly difficult, and I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted Hayate to hurry up or to take her time.

**AlternativeS VIII**

Fate smiled as she walked into Nanoha's room during their lunch break. The instructor was currently laying on her back on the couch with a sleeping Vivio curled on her stomach. Out of habit, the blond brought up her hands to form a monitor so she could take a picture of the scene. '_Seeing Vivio so young really brings back memories._' The target of her thoughts seemed to stir at that moment, sleepily lifting her head. Fate tried her best not to fawn over the half-asleep eyes and slightly parted mouth paired with the confused face of the child. Instead, she walked over to the girls and leaned over, offering her arms.

Vivio took the silent request to be picked up and lain against the woman while trying to wake up. "Sleepy?" Fate asked softly, looking past Vivio and to Nanoha.

"Mmn, Aunt Fate..." Vivio's reply was stifled by a face-splitting open mouthed yawn. "Aahhhhhwwwnnnn..."

Nanoha interrupted Fate's silent cursing for not taking a picture of that scene by running a hand along her stomach in an attempt to find out why the warm child was no longer sleeping on her. The blonde knelt down by the woman and took her hand to show that someone was still there. "Fate...-chan..." Nanoha whispered while slowly waking up. Her hand gripped Fate's softly and the blond watched in amazement as Nanoha brought it to her mouth to kiss a finger. "Love you..." Her half mumbled words were barely audible, but slate blue eyes slowly fluttered open. Looking up at a bewildered Fate holding Vivio, she smiled fondly. As her mind woke up more, her expression changed and she sat up quickly, holding a hand to her chest. "Fweh-chyan!?"

Fate looked at her with sparkling eyes. "_Vivio_ said my name perfectly when she woke up." The comment made Nanoha blush darkly and look away. "Lunch time is almost over," The woman continued. "I came to make sure you woke up for afternoon training like you asked."

"A-ah..." Nanoha nodded. "Thank you..." She watched Fate sit Vivio onto her feet and move closer to her. "Fate-chan? Kyan!" She held onto the blonde when she was suddenly lifted up off the couch.

"Should I just carry you?" Fate asked curiously. "I don't see your chair."

"Pendant form," Nanoha revealed, showing her necklace. "I was scared Vivio might roll off of me so I didn't want her to hit the chair if I had to make a grab for her..." Nanoha's words slowly trailed off, and she looked down at her lap, embarrassed. "Uhm..." She was taken to an opening in the room without being asked so she could toss the small gem to the floor, where it glowed brightly before changing into her smart chair.

"Hayate would have loved to have a device like that in the past," Fate mused while setting Nanoha into it.

"Y-yeah... This model was specially built for me. It allows me to do so much more than the normal models." Nanoha lifted herself slightly with her arms and adjusted herself to sit comfortably.

"Mama?" Vivio's voice made them both turn to the girl. "Why do you always sit in that chair?"

Fate felt her heart break at the question, but Nanoha simply smiled at it. "Mama's legs don't move like yours do," she explained simply. "So this chair helps me get around."

"Oh," Vivio looked sad at the answer. "...Ne, mama?"

"Yes?"

"If you ever need something, I'll get it for you, okay?" Vivio put her hands on Nanoha's knees and peered up at her. "Okay?"

The mother smiled down at her, leaning over to pick up the girl to sit on her lap. "Mmn. Thank you, Vivio."

~**~

Fate and Alicia entered the briefing room together, seeing others already there. Nanoha and Yuuno were off to one side, along with Teana and Subaru next to them. Across from the small group stood Lexus along with two people in standard military attire. From what Fate could remember, she assumed they were the triple-A ranked air and sea mages that had been mentioned earlier.

"About time," Lexus spoke up at once. "When you're in my battalion, I won't let you be tardy when summoned." He hesitated when he saw Alicia as well. "Oh, you have a twin, do you?"

"Shut it before I do it for you," Alicia shot at him with narrowed eyes.

Hayate cut them off before an argument could break out by clearing her throat. "Okay everyone, since we are all gathered now, I would like to go over the plan for this mission." She motioned for everyone to gather around the table in the middle of the room and brought up a transparent blueprint of a building and the surrounding area. "Our sources tell us that this building is where Jail Scaglietti is currently staying. He has an interest with Alicia, and will talk to her--"

"--Why?" Lexus interrupted, looking over at the blonde. "What connection does she have with Jail?"

Alicia smirked at him pointedly and then turned back to Hayate, who continued where she left off. "Since Fate-chan is Alicia's twin; we will have her confront Scaglietti in her sister's place. With the main threat being taken care of by Fate-chan, we can easily slip in the other entrances to his base here, here, and here." She pointed with each word, making the areas light up. "We will be split into groups as follows: Lightning Unit will be Fate-chan alone. Stars will consist of Nanoha and Alicia, who will go after the relic."

"Wait a moment, please," Fate cut in apologetically. "Nanoha will be going inside the building?"

Nanoha looked a little offended. "Of course I will be. I may be in a wheelchair, but I have ways to enter into battle. Raising Heart has a flight mode that will give me almost two hours of mobile time without starting to affect my combat."

Fate looked skeptical, so Hayate confirmed it. "I don't know about your world, Fate-chan, but in ours, Yuuno-kun made specific additions to Nanoha-chan's device to ensure her safety. Also, no offense Alicia, but I can't have you alone in the target zone." The girl shrugged and smiled over at Nanoha with a nod.

Lexus snorted. "So what are we here for?"

"You will follow Stars unit and ensure that they can reach their target. If they are targeted beforehand, you will engage instead."

"Works for me," Lexus crossed his arms. " Saving your butts seems to be a full-time job anyway." His remark made his two men smirk and the rest of the room repress a growl. "And don't forget, Fate, you're mine after this is over."

Fate glared but nodded anyway. "I haven't forgotten."

"People, please." Hayate spoke firmly, tapping her hands on the table displaying the information before them. "Focus." When all eyes turned to her again, she continued. "Subaru, Teana, you will be with me in the Snow group. We will be stationed in a van nearby." Her moved her hands, rotating the map displaying on the table so she could point at a building nearby where the mission would take place. "This will be where we start the mission and where I will be stationed to oversee it. My group will be for backup purposes only and will not deploy unless there is an emergency." She looked at the two nervous soldiers before her and nodded at them. "I'll be counting on you two to protect the van in case we're discovered." Both of them saluted, although not as crisply as they normally would. "Any questions?"

Lexus moved his hands out in a shrugging manor. "So basically we're walking in, Fate takes on Jail, we protect these two girls, and find a relic? You called us in for that?"

Hayate turned to face him directly. "Scaglietti is highly dangerous, and he has the Trinity as his personal bodyguards. That alone would warrant caution, and that's not including any extra guards he may have. We are trying to bring him down once and for all; underestimating him at this point is not an option. Any more questions?" When none came, she nodded to herself. "Right, then. We deploy tomorrow at one, be ready. Dismissed." With that word, the group dispersed, going their own ways. '_Let's just hope this goes smoothly._'

"Fate-chan," Nanoha's voice made the woman stop and turn back to look at her. "Want to eat dinner with me tonight? Please?"

The red-eyed girl hesitated just a moment before agreeing. "Sure, I'd love to."

Nanoha beamed up at her friend. "Great! I'll have it ready in about an hour, so come by when you're ready, okay?"

~**~

Nanoha glanced over her shoulder when she heard knocking at her door. "Come in!" she called out cheerfully.

"Excuse the intrusion," Fate sang out in her normal soft tone. "Oh, something smells really good." bending over, she plucked up Vivio when the child came to greet her and balanced the girl onto her hip. "Hi there, Vivio."

"Hello, Aunt Fate," she replied back with a giggle at being carried.

"Almost ready," Nanoha informed while pulling a roast from the oven.

"Shall I set the table?" Fate asked curiously while looking at the half prepared dining table.

"Ah, I can get it!"

"Its okay," Fate insisted. "Vivio will help me, won't you, Vivio?"

"Un!" The girl cheered at being involved.

"Thank you," Nanoha gave in at the happy look on her 'daughter's' face.

Fate sat Vivio on the floor and got the plates down, making sure Vivio could carry all three of them safely. "Put them on the table, but be careful because they can break, okay?" She got a hum and then was graced with the sight of Vivio carefully carrying the plates with both hands as if she were balancing marbles on top of them.

"Tomorrow's the big day, huh?" Nanoha breathed out while putting her side dishes in serving platters. "Hard to believe its already been over a month since you arrived."

"Yeah," Fate agreed slowly, catching the sadness in Nanoha's voice. "I really appreciate everything that you have done for me during this."

"Hey, you'd do the same for me, right?" Nanoha handed Fate a platter to take to the table. "Thank you."

"Of course," Fate answered at once, moving around Vivio who was still carefully arranging the plates. "But still, thank you. You made this bearable."

Nanoha felt a small blush come to her cheeks at the praise. "Thank you..." When Fate got next to her, she looked up at the girl nervously. "Hey... again, I'm sorry about before."

"Stop," Fate bent over and put her arms around Nanoha and hugged her from behind. "It wasn't completely your fault. You thought it was me and you weren't thinking right. I understand, okay? Stop beating yourself up over this."

"You being so understanding," Nanoha whispered, looking down in the embrace, "kind of makes this harder on me..."

Fate felt a small smile come when a teardrop hit her arms. "I'm sorry, but that's how I am." Squeezing Nanoha once more, she whispered into her ear. "Now dry those pretty eyes and smile, okay? Here, look." turning Nanoha's chair around in the hug, she made the girl watch Vivio holding the last plate with a death grip while acting as if it would break if she slid it across the table too fast. "She's scared she might break them."

Nanoha felt a laugh come at once and she covered her mouth to hold it down. When Vivio was done, she turned around and ran over to Nanoha proudly. "Mama, I did it!"

"Good job, Vivio," both adults answered at the same time with a smile.

~**~

Fate awoke the next morning to her sister's soft snoring against her neck. Blinking to clear her eyes, she looked up at the ceiling while enjoying the peaceful morning. Alicia was half on top of her, arm and legs sprawled across her body while using her chest as a makeshift pillow. Fate's right arm was numb from the weight on it, sending tingles through her shoulder when she tried to move it. Instead, she moved her left hand and rubbed her sister's back gently to wake her. "Alicia... Sis?"

"Five more minutes," she groaned out.

"I need to get up," Fate insisted softly. Her twin shifted groggily, moving off of her, but grabbed the covers in the process, pulling them up to her nose as she got comfortable again. "I'll wake you in a bit." Only the sounds of her sister breathing steadily came to her, making her grin to herself.

Getting out of bed, Fate put on her uniform quickly and left the room in favor of heading to Nanoha's. Once there, she greeted the struggling temporary-mother as she tried to dress Vivio and make breakfast at the same time. Coming to her rescue, she properly prettied Vivio up and did her hair while Nanoha finished cooking. Breakfast was served and, after an insistence from Nanoha, the three sat down together to enjoy it.

Almost two hours later, Fate found herself in the prep room, sitting patiently while the others slowly started coming in. Teana and Subaru were already there, having come before anyone else. Watching them shift nervously in their seats, Fate couldn't help but recall back to their first mission in her world. "Nervous?" she asked calmly, getting their attention.

"Yes," Subaru answered honestly. "I can't help but feel as if everyone expects so much from me..."

"We do," Fate replied simply. "You and Teana were given those devices because we can see a potential in you both that far exceeds that of the normal people training under Nanoha right now. That's why we are counting on you to watch over the van with Hayate and act if anything needs your attention. You may not even engage any enemies today, but it will be a good experience for you none the less."

"Ma'am." Teana nodded in agreement. "Thank you for this opportunity to prove myself."

Before Fate could reply, Hayate came into the room and looked around. "You girls are here early."

"I told Fate that we could wait," Alicia complained, leaning her chair back to balance on the back two legs. "But she said it was best to be here early in case we needed to change any plans."

Hayate nodded to herself. "Good idea, Fate-chan, but so far everything seems just fine. Alicia, are you sure that you don't need to contact Jail beforehand?"

"I show up whenever I feel like it, and leave just the same," Alicia mused while balancing. "If I made an appointment, it would probably set off a flag. Best to just go with it."

With a small sigh, Hayate reluctantly agreed. "Okay."

~**~

"Okay, let's go over this one more time," Nanoha got everyone's attention as their van parked at the predetermined location. "Fate-chan will go and meet Jail in place of Alicia. During this time Alicia and I will hunt for the relic we're after while Lexus and his group support us. The number one goal is to get the relic at all costs."

Lexus broke in, leaning forward while checking the lace on his boots. "Why not just zerg Jail and ensure that he is captured?"

Hayate sighed. "Again, we are after the relic more than Jail this time. We want to capture him, but priorities are priorities. The relic is what we are after."

Lexus frowned but nodded anyway. "This is your run, even if that _is_ stupid." The man missed the glances towards Fate, who looked down slightly.

"Subaru, Teana," Nanoha went on, getting their attention again. "You two will remain here in case we need backup. If anyone is injured inside, you will be needed to retrieve, understood?"

"Ma'am," both replied at the same time with a nod.

"Right then," Nanoha nodded. "Any questions?" When nothing came to her, she looked over at Fate. "You're up."

"Right," Fate moved to open the van, smiling back over at the group. "Good luck everyone." Hopping out, she adjusted her casual outfit and tossed her pigtails over her shoulders. '_Here we go,_' Walking the two blocks, she reflected back on the prepping Alicia had given her earlier. '_Just be cocky, act like I own the place, and don't take crap from anyone if they stop me...'_

The door to the building was opened casually and she noted that a silent alarm went off due to a blinking red light that her trained eye caught. Ignoring this, she put her hands into her pockets and kept walking, looking around curiously. Before long she entered a long hallway with life capsules on both sides, housing what she knew to be the Numbers. '_They're not activated yet..._' Her mind thought curiously. '_I wonder if he's holding back for some reason..._'

"Nice of you to arrive!" Jail's voice made Fate's attention snap to the side, where the man was sitting on a desk. "I'm glad you could make it, Fate-san."

"Sorry, but I'd have to split the money with Sis if I involved her," Fate put a hand on her hip in annoyance. "If you want her, it'd cost extra."

Jail stood up from his desk and walked over to the girl, passing by a complex lab area and moving out into the large area of the room. Walking around the girl, he eyed her. "Well, this is strange," he mused. "Normally I can tell the difference between two people, but you two..." Jail laughed and moved to stand in front of her. "I see, I see, how amusing. You came from another time, but it turns out you are a fake as well." Fate's eyes widened slightly, something that Jail didn't miss. "Thank you for confirming it, Fate-san."

"What do you mean by 'as well'?" Fate asked, giving up on tricking him and falling back into just keeping him distracted long enough for the mission to go through before she made her move.

"You can't tell? Your sister is a clone, the same as you." Crossing his arms, he observed her more. "I found her in a life pod when I was doing some research on a past experiment that failed. I had stumbled upon the home of someone who had tried to perfect the Project Fate series. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."

"Precia," Fate breathed out. "So Alicia..."

"Is simply another experiment," Jail finished for her. "No more than you."

"Does she know?"

Jail shrugged. "If she figured it out or not isn't of any concern to me. What I want to know, however, is how you crossed timelines."

This time Fate smirked at him. "You honestly expect me to tell you that?"

"Not willingly, of course." Jail shifted, his hand moving behind him to press a button on the computer, but was launched forward when the console blew up.

Fate flexed her hand, the yellow magic circle in front of her fingertips spinning quickly as more energy daggers appeared. "I won't let you activate them." With those words, she launched more attacks, destroying the machines around her and making the deep greenish blue lights on the life pods fade. "Not that it matters, as they are no threat to me." Fate looked at Jail's snarling face. "Surrender quietly."

The purple haired man stood slowly, looking down at the ground steadily before a sick grin came to his face. "Interesting..."

~**~

"Let's move," Nanoha spoke up after sitting in the van long enough to give Fate time. "Raising Heart, please." Her device answered while Nanoha's wheelchair went down the ramp on the side of the can. Once there the chair started to glow, shifting around to form a type of golden armor around the girl. Nanoha's legs were covered completely, joints covered with a red crystal. The metal went up her thighs and waist, forming cloth over her skin then covering it with the alloy as well. Her hair flew up into twin pigtails and her arms were graced with the same protection as her lower body. Blue and white accents went over the gold armor, adding decoration to signify her position and call sign. Finally, two transparent pink wings of magic flew from her back and lifted the girl up just enough off the ground so she was hovering. A deep exhalation came from Nanoha's lips and she looked back at the group of people behind her.

"Remember, Nanoha-chan," Hayate warned her with a serious tone. "The exceed mode draws power directly from your linker core. If you--"

"I know, I know," Nanoha tried to ease her friend's fear. "If I start to feel weak, then pull out immediately. I know how to use this form, Hayate-chan." With a small salute, she hovered in place for a moment more before turning to Alicia. "Ready?"

"Steady," the woman replied back, hopping out of the van before Lexus and his group. "You look pretty hot in that."

Nanoha felt her cheeks color slightly. Choosing to ignore the comment, she nodded at the rest of her group and began flying before them at a walking pace. Hanging just a few inches above the ground, she bit back a bad feeling in her stomach and opened the door leading into another area of the large building they were invading.

At once the group could see their breath, skin tingling as bitter cold flashed around them with a small snow flurry. The door slammed shut behind them and the group glanced back a moment before looking forward, seeing three people standing before them along with a dragon the size of a large dog. "Welcome," Erio spoke to them casually. "Glad you could make it."

Lexus snorted. "The Trinity, huh? Looks like this will be worth my time after all!"

Caro frowned at the man. "We would prefer not to fight you." When the man before her drew his weapon, she sighed softly. "Shiva... Please." A loud roar came from the dragon and the room dropped several more degrees as a bright flash blinded everyone. When they could see again, Erio stood in the middle of the room holding a spear and covered in a transparent set of armor that seemed to be dragon scales made of ice.

"Bring it," the boy challenged, using his hand to make a taunting motion.

Lexus attacked at once, running forward in the snow and raising his fist up to strike Erio. Instead, he found the kid sidestepped him easily and slammed the end of his spear against his back. The older man grunted and turned to attack again but found nobody there. Looking around himself, he saw Erio already by the other two people once more, fighting his partner.

"Pathetic!" Alicia complained, running up to him with Nanoha floating next to her. "I thought you were supposed to be better than this?"

"Don't mock me," Lexus snorted while standing properly. "I'll handle this, you two get out of here."

Nanoha hesitated slightly. "Will you be able to--?"

"Leave, Instructor!" Lexus shouted at her harshly. "This isn't a job for those who can't fight!" With that, he ran into the mix once more, yelling out a battle cry as Lutecia turned to greet him with an outstretched hand and a magic circle formed beneath her feet.

"Forget him," Alicia told Nanoha, grabbing her hand and pulling her away. "Let's get out of here while they are distracted."

Nanoha nodded and allowed herself to be dragged though the air, blocking several ranged shots taken at them as they made their escape. Once the large area was left, warmth rushed over them immediately. The snow was gone and they found themselves back in the warmth of hallways. "How's that reader looking?" she asked, looking around to make sure the coast was clear.

"I'm getting a faint signal," Alicia replied, looking at a small monitor floating above her hand. "I think it's up ahead." Pointing, she blinked when two shots were fired down the hallway and was about to ask what they were for when two people rounded the corner and were struck down cleanly. Letting out a sharp whistle, Alicia grinned. "Wow, you're pretty good at this."

"I don't want to waste time," Nanoha informed her softly. "This mode takes a lot out of me; the longer I am in it, the weaker I get. "

"I see," Alicia nodded to herself and began running now. "Shouldn't be too much farther..."

~**~

Fate cursed mentally as she dodged another attack from Jail, rolling across the ground and kicking back up almost at once as the area she was at blew up underneath her. Moving forward again, she set her eyes on the wounded man and dashed quickly, getting up in his face and grabbing his neck. A fast jerk of her body allowed him to slam him into the ground hard enough to make him blank for a moment. Taking the chance, she formed several binds to hold him down and panted hard after making sure he wouldn't be able to move anymore. "You are under arrest," she told him while reinforcing the binds. When the man started laughing, Fate instantly started blasting anything electronic she could find in the room. Her last shot made Jail go silent, and Fate sighed out in relief when nothing came out of the large life pod tubes near the walls. "Don't worry, they will be activated later, after we have had time to ensure their personalities and remove any plans you have on impregnating them with your offspring."

Jail's head fell back to lay on the ground, laughing at his situation. "Simply amazing... To be beaten so easily by someone from the future! I must know!"

Ignoring him, Fate brought up a monitor before her. "Hayate?"

"Yes, Lightning?" Hayate asked back, her face appearing.

"The whole disguise thing didn't work, I had to subdue Jail. Send Teana and Subaru to my current location to pick him up. He is restrained." Pointing Bardiche at the man, she formed a barrier over him to prevent anyone from getting close to the man and to make sure he couldn't leave even if he managed to somehow break the binds. "I'm proceeding with the mission objectives."

"Roger." The screen cut off and Fate stood.

Looking around, Fate was about to make her way to a side exit but a loud explosion made her change course and run as fast as she could to the sounds of battle that were now getting louder. By the time she reached a reinforced door, the noise had gone silent. Several slashes with Bardiche granted her entry to a new room and she felt the bitter sting of cold wash over her body. Walking in, she took in the situation at once, red eyes scanning. Lexus, along with his two men, were all laying sprawled at various locations in the room. Red was smeared near them, as well as around the three people who were not unconscious. "Erio! Caro! Lutecia!" Fate ran forward, but stopped when the boy shakingly rose his spear to point at her.

"I won't let you hurt them," he declared seriously. Despite his threatening words, he still collapsed to one knee and was held by both summoners. Blood was leaking over his right eye and he seemed to have trouble keeping his weapon at the ready. Caro was holding him tightly, also hurt, and Lutecia was on the other side, seemingly better than the rest and only showed a few cuts and bruises.

Fate swallowed and looked at the group, seeing desperation in Erio's eyes, along with the fierce determination to protect those next to him, even if it meant killing her to do so.

"Erio," Fate spoke softly while resisting the urge to run to the group to see if they were okay. "I'm not going to attack you..." The boy gripped his spear harder when she took a step forward. "Really... I just want to make sure you are okay."

"Liar!" Erio shouted back at her harshly. "Don't come any closer!" Standing, he took a weak step towards Fate and prepared himself. "I won't let anyone hurt them!"

Fate held up both her hands. "Erio, calm down." Taking one more tentative step closer, she tried to make the lad lower his spear. "Just put down your weapon and--" Her red eyes caught the motion that others would normally miss. Lightning arced from Erio's boots and launched him forward. Acting on impulse, Fate blurred as well, side stepping the attack and wrapping him in binds at the same time. As their speed slowed down and they became visible again, Erio hit the ground and slid, yelling in pain as he rolled a few times. Fate landed on her knees and instantly pointed her scythe at Lutecia and Caro. "Don't move!" she warned loudly.

The blonde slowly walked backwards towards the panting Erio and crouched down next to him, keeping her eyes on the girls while talking to him. "Are you okay, Erio?" She got a grunt in reply so she put a hand on his shoulder. "Stop struggling, you'll make it worse."

"What do you care?" Erio asked angrily, looking up at her.

"I told you, I'm your sister." Fate answered softly. "I'm going to take your weapon now," She gently pried his hand off of Strada and it immediately went into watch form once it was out of his grasp. Pocketing it, she looked back at the girls to make sure they didn't advance. "I'm going to undo your binds... Don't try to escape, okay?" Erio glared at her but nodded, staying still when he was released. "Lutecia, Caro, come over here." Fate requested softly. "Erio, where are you hurt at?"

The red head slowly sat up with Fate's help. "Why are you doing this? You could be put in prison for helping an enemy."

"You're not my enemy," Fate told him gently. "I'm sorry I can't prove it other than telling you that I was born the same way you were: Project F."

"Impossible," Erio countered. "The doctor would have told us."

"I'm sorry, but its true," Fate's hand went to block an insect from stinging her neck by making a barrier. "Lutecia, stop that."

"How did you...?" The purple haired girl opened her palm and allowed the unharmed insect to land on her.

"I help train you, in my world." Fate looked at the group sadly, knowing that there would be no way for them to compromise after all she'd heard they'd done. "Listen... I won't turn you in, on one condition."

Caro blinked at her, but still spoke up. "What do you mean?"

Fate softened her gaze. "I know you are all good people... Promise me you won't do anything wrong anymore."

"Like I could," Erio told her while standing up with the girl's help. "We're wanted all over this planet."

"There is a planet nearby, a wildlife preserve... you can get a job there protecting the animals from poachers... Its what you do in my world. The land is beautiful, and I'm sure they'll provide you with a house."

Erio looked at the woman once more. "You're really going to let us go... aren't you?"

"Be safe..." Fate told him softly. "Caro, Lutecia... Take care of him for me."

"Of course!" Caro answered at once, eyes wide.

Lutecia looked at Fate once more. "There isn't any other catch?"

"One," Fate replied simply. " I want to hug Erio." She opened her arms.

"Why?" Erio asked, skeptical.

"Please," Fate asked again, remembering the first time she held the boy in her world.

Erio stayed silent for a while longer before reluctantly limping to her. "Fine." He allowed Fate to wrap her arms around him and hold him against her body. Her hands ran along his back gently and words went into his ear so only he could hear them.

"Be safe, Erio. I trust you to do what's right and to take care of them..." She gave him a small squeeze and pulled back, kissing his forehead much to his surprise. "Okay?" She placed Strada back into his hand and closed his fingers around it.

"... Okay." Erio nodded to her and stepped back away from the hold. "Girls, let's go." With that, he put his arms around Lutecia and Caro, supporting each of them as they held him up.

"Good job, sir." Bardiche's metallic voice told her.

"I believe in them..." Her red eyes looked at the beaten, unconscious figures of Lexus and his men. "...Am I a bad person for thinking they got what was coming to them?"

"Yes, sir," Bardiche answered again. "But I agree."

The words made Fate smile. "Now to contact Hayate and find my sister and Nanoha."

~**~

"Is this it?" Nanoha asked, more to herself than the person she was with. Gliding along beside Alicia, she scanned the new room with sharp blue eyes. There were scattered tables and large glass tubes against the wall, all of which were empty. Curiously, she moved to the far end of the area where an open container was and peered into it. "These are life pods, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Alicia replied softly. Her red eyes swept the area but she walked to a desk on the far side, guided by the device in her hand. "Here…" Kneeling, she reared back her hand to punch through an old container and pulled out a small red crystal. "I'm getting a match," she spoke up after checking once more. "Nanoha, this is it."

"Seriously? Oh, thank God." Nanoha let out a large sigh of relief. "I was so worried that it wouldn't be here, or worse, destroyed. Let's get out of here and back to the van, Hayate is probably really pissed at me right now. I should have gone back after fighting those few skirmishes in the hallways getting here…"

Alicia stayed silent a moment, standing and looking at the empty life pods. Reaching out, she touched the opened container and felt sick to her stomach when an old memory came back to her. The first vision she had ever seen had been through a murky bluish-green liquid. Her mother was nowhere to be found and the last thing she could remember was laying on a bed with Precia hovering over her with a terrified expression. "Hey… Nanoha?" Her voice was soft, full of pain and sadness. "Have you ever thought about what it would be like if Sis stayed here with us?"

Nanoha felt an uneasy feeling wash through her body. "What do you mean?"

Alicia turned to look over at Nanoha, holding up the relic. "This is the only relic that can send her back correctly, right?"

"Alicia…" Nanoha held out her hand. "Give me the relic, please. I need to seal its power so they can't trace us."

"You can't say you haven't thought about it." The blonde stepped back when Nanoha glided over to her. "If we destroy this, she will be able to stay with us… I'll have a family again, and you will be able to finally have someone who can truly love you!"

"Alicia," Nanoha spoke softly, still moving forward carefully. "We both know that isn't going to happen. Fate-chan has a family she needs to go home to… "

"Her family is _here!_" The woman shouted back, gripping the crystal and pulling it back so Nanoha couldn't reach for it. "You don't know what it's like to grow up like I did. Living on the streets, not knowing what happened… Why I woke up like that! I survived off nothing and stole just to eat… I made a name for myself and started doing things my own way..." She started walking in a half circle around Nanoha, keeping her eyes on the woman. "Then Fate came to me, my own sister, my _twin_! She understood everything without me even asking!"

"She's not meant to stay here," Nanoha kept her voice calm and steady. "Alicia, you know it as well… She needs to go home."

"Haven't you ever had something worth risking everything for?" Alicia asked sadly, tightening her hold on the relic.

Nanoha gripped Raising Heart firmly. "Yes, I have."

"Then you understand." Alicia raised her free hand up before her. "Juliette!" A confirmation in Latin came to her and her skin was promptly replaced by a metallic glove, long cat-like fingernails on the tips. "I'm sorry, Nanoha; I can't give this to you."

"I don't want to hurt you." Nanoha prepared herself, judging her next few moves in advance and observing the device that she didn't even know the blonde had.

"Me either…" She gave Nanoha a sad smile. "But I can't lose my sister." Raising her armored hand up, she looked down at the relic and slammed her claws down to destroy it. Just when the crystal was going to be pierced, a sharp blast from Nanoha knocked her back and caused her to slide along the ground. The relic clattered to the floor and slid, followed closely by Nanoha. "No!" Alicia flexed her fingers, making red strings dance around the gem and slicing Nanoha's hand in several places when she tried to grab it.

"Raising Heart!" Nanoha's voice shouted out as she slammed the bottom of her staff onto the ground, breaking it apart with a small explosion and sending the crystal up into the air and out of the thread barrier.

"No you don't!" Alicia darted forward quickly, leaping at the end of her dash and grabbing Nanoha's hand before it connected with the crystal. Threads looped down Nanoha's arm and tightened, shredding the cloth covering her arm and drawing blood. Nanoha grunted, but still managed to make several blasts come from her free hand and crash into the teen's back.

Twisting her arm free, Nanoha pointed her staff at the girl and fired, sending her sliding back across the floor. Despite the attack, she saw the relic follow Alicia by twisted threads along the ground. With a curse, she ran forward as well while the blonde rolled from the settling dust. The two reached the relic at the same time, clashing together with a mix of red strings and pink energy shots. "Alicia! Think about what Fate-chan wants!"

Alicia grunted and kneed Nanoha, only to be deflected by an armored shin. "I can make her happy! _We_ can make her happy!" Tangling Nanoha's right arm with the thread, she pulled the arm down enough to land a clean punch to her face. "No one will ever know!"

"_I_ will know!" Nanoha shouted back, loading two cartridges into her staff and firing again. The explosion broke the walls of the room and made part of the ceiling collapse at once, showing them with debris and smoke.

"Think!" Alicia commanded, blurring from the rubble and snaring the gem once more, only to have her strings cut by well placed delayed traps. "Nanoha! Let's be a family together! You will be my sister-in-law! I don't want to fight you!"

"You're not really giving me a choice!" Nanoha screamed, dodging threads that tried to ensnare her. "Alicia, stop this! We can still be friends, even after Fate-chan is gone!"

"I want her too!" Alicia almost cried out, running again and getting into close combat with the woman. "Please! Let me keep her! I've wanted a family ever since I could remember!" Blow after blow was exchanged, leaving them both panting heavily and struggling. "Nanoha!"

"No!" The woman loaded another cartridge and shot a beam forward, collapsing more of the floor and exposing the level below them. "This is what's right!" Tears fell unbidden from her eyes as she grabbed the relic off the ground. "We have to send her back! I don't want this any more than you do!"

"Liar!" Alicia pulled her clawed hand back, ripping Nanoha towards herself. "You don't love her!"

"I do!" Nanoha cried desperately, slamming a new clip into her staff as she was pulled forward. "More than anything!" The shells flew thick as she charged her attack. Alicia spread her fingers apart as she reared back to punch, red strings glistening in the light as they prepared to wrap and choke the girl's body. The two collided roughly, spinning each other around as half of the energy blast exploded around them. Alicia turned and hit Nanoha hard in the gut, doubling her over and robbing her of her breath. "Please…" Nanoha coughed out. "Don't do this… we can… be friends…"

Alicia felt a sob come out as she prepared her next attack. "Then be my friend and let me be happy…" She saw Nanoha's eyes soften sadly and a cartridge fly out from her staff. Not taking the chance to let her fire, Alicia dashed forward quickly, blurring the line of Nanoha's sight and tackling her fiercely. The two shot backwards and through the exposed floor to the ground beneath them. Landing harshly, Alicia reared her hand back to land another punch, but stopped when she saw the shocked look in the girl's eyes beneath her. Slowly, blood trickled from the corner of Nanoha's lip and red eyes shook as they lowered their sight. Nanoha's front was stained red, two metal support beams jutting from her stomach and shoulder. "N…no…"

Nanoha slowly raised her staff as Alicia stepped back in fear. The shaking tip of Raising Heart aimed at the girl and a metallic voice came in the place of its master's. "Fire!" The gathered energy was released all at once, crashing into the now-defenseless woman and sending her flying in the air and through the wall behind her. When the rubble clattered onto the floor, so did her staff. Blue eyes looked up at the ceiling hazily, hand holding loosely onto a dust-covered red crystal.

"I… protected it…Fate-chan…" Nanoha whispered to herself, breathing heavily in exhaustion and pain. Her body shifted carefully, trying to pull herself up, but stopped almost before it started when fire danced around her wounds and glass seemed to shoot through her veins. "Ah…nngh…" She couldn't summon enough strength to scream, despite wishing to. Instead, she groaned and coughed, almost welcoming the pain-numbing haziness trying to overcome her.

"Nanoha!? Alicia!?" Fate's voice sounded from somewhere above her. "Answer me!"

"Fate-…chan…" Nanoha barely found the strength to whisper, vision swimming as she turned her head to look up through the hole in the ceiling.

Fate ran through the room desperately, looking around before hopping in the air and moving to the exposed ground. "Nanoha!? Alicia!? Where are--" Her words cut off as the sight of Nanoha lying on the ground came before her. "Nanoha!?"

"Fate-chan…" Nanoha spoke weakly, a small smile trying to form on her lips. "You… found me…" Her vision was soon filled with the worried face of Fate above her.

"Nanoha… oh God…" Fate's hands shook as they tried to find some place to touch the girl that wouldn't hurt her. "Hayate!" Her voice screamed out frantically, Bardiche already bringing up the connection without being asked to. "Hayate! Nanoha's hurt! Send the medical team! Quickly!"

Nanoha tried to raise her hand, grunting in pain as the simple act sent spasms through her body. "I… got it…" Nanoha told the woman, feeling relief wash over her when Fate took the item from her and carelessly shoved it into a pouch on her jacket so she could instead hold the hand.

"Shh, don't talk, sweetie. Help is on the way, okay?"

The injured girl shook her head sadly, fighting the blackness that kept struggling to consume her. "I'm…sorry."

"No! No, don't say that! Don't ever say that!" Fate held Nanoha's hand with both of hers, moving to be closer to the girl. "You'll be okay…" Despite her words, tears still fell from her red eyes. "Nanoha…"

"I decided…" Nanoha began, weakly trying to lift her head to see Fate better and being aided by the blonde at once. "That… that if I was… in your place…" She swallowed thickly, tasting the copper tang in her mouth once more. "I would… want my other self to… do everything in her power… to send you back." A soft gasp made her cough lightly, blood flecking her lips. "Because… I know that I love you… enough for both of us." She offered a small smile that was laced with care. "So I did everything…I could… to make sure you got back… to her."

"Nanoha…" Fate felt a sob come out against her will and she kissed the girl's forehead. "Don't say that… you'll be fine…"

"Please promise me," Nanoha's voice started to get weaker, making Fate hold onto her tighter. "That you'll love her enough… for both of us."

"Yes," Fate whispered against the girl. "I promise. I promise you, Nanoha." She looked down into the slate blue eyes of her friend and tried her best to smile for her. "You have my word." Nanoha gave the blonde one last fond look before slowly closing her eyes, head gently falling to the side. "Nanoha…" Fate whispered the name once more, huddling over the girl and holding her close.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a clear day, with a bright sun and just enough clouds in the air to decorate the clean sky. It was the kind of day Nanoha had loved, spending most of it just smiling up at the sky with a fondness that few understood. It was because of this that I was glad the weather was like it was today. As I stood with a mass of people in a military graveyard, I watched helplessly as people took turns saying their words before a highly decorated white casket with blue trim. Hayate had gone first, of course, speaking with the words not only of a leader, but those of a close friend. She talked of the sky that Nanoha loved, and the joy that she so freely gave to others. The way sun shined onto the world to give it warmth, and how Nanoha's smile did the same to each of them. The speech ended before it was completed, however, when Hayate finally crossed the line between being professional and being a best friend. Tears fell from her cheeks freely, and the words would no longer come. With that, she managed out a final. "I love you," to her parted friend and left the podium at the front of the gathering.

**AlternativeS IX**

Fate regretfully took her hands off of Vivio's shoulders and allowed the girl to walk back over to her crying friend, only to be hugged tightly. The blonde knew that Vivio understood what was going on, and was amazed to find the small child hugging Hayate back with a sadness that no girl that age should ever have to know. Several more people took their turn before the group, each laying a flower onto the casket before saying a few words of past events and stories they had experienced together. During all of it, Fate held herself back, feeling as if she had no right to talk in front of everyone. Instead, she waited. Waited painfully as the casket was slowly let into the earth, and waited as the people reluctantly began to go their own separate ways.

When only the few close friends of Nanoha remained, Fate finally stepped forward to the grave and picked up a handful of dirt beside it. Slowly, she sprinkled it onto the casket below like the other's had, and finally spoke. "Nanoha… Even though we only knew each other for a few weeks… you touched my life in ways that I never thought possible. You gave your life protecting what you hold dear: your own beliefs. I will miss you, no matter what happens. I made a promise to you then, and I can honestly say that I can keep it, because you showed me a love so deep that I…" Her words broke, and a small sob was pressed down, making her throat hurt. Standing there, she looked at the casket one last time before nodding at it and dropping her rose down onto it as well.

Feeling as if she should let the rest have their moment with each other, the blonde looked at them in turn before walking away as well. Alicia's borrowed car was started up and the blonde made her way back to the base ahead of the others. After parking, she quietly made her way through the random people walking around and went to the hospital wing. Upon entering a room, she stopped in her tracks briefly when she saw her sister sitting up in the bed. "Sis!" The distance was closed quickly and she hugged the girl tightly. "You're awake!"

"Y-yeah…" Alicia responded weakly.

"What happened to you? We found you unconscious under rubble, not far from Nanoha…"

"Is she okay!?" Alicia suddenly asked, eyes wide.

Fate felt her bottom lip shake at having to say the words. "She… didn't make it."

The younger sibling went silent, eyes downcast and staring at the bed sheets. After allowing Fate to sit on the bed and take her hands, she finally spoke up. "It's my fault."

"What is?"

"Nanoha…" Gripping the sheets harder, the girl kept her eyes fixated on the covers so she wouldn't have to look at her twin. "We found the relic together… But I… I didn't want to take it back." She felt her chest tighten when Fate didn't jump to any conclusions. Instead, the blonde was listening patiently to her story. "I told her that if we destroyed the relic then you would be able to stay with us."

"But you didn't," Fate tried to sooth her.

"I tried," Alicia countered in a soft whisper. "Nanoha stopped me, but we fought over it… It was an accident… I tackled her and we fell… She landed on the debris and…" Her words stopped when Fate took her hands back. Silence hung thick in the air and the girl began to wish for Fate to do something, anything, to her. What came, however, was the sound of the sheets rustling as Fate stood up, and then the soft clicking of the door as it opened and closed. Now alone, Alicia brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them, burying her face into her legs and sobbing out.

~**~

Fate zipped her duffle bag slowly, feeling a strange sense of loss despite the room she was currently in not belonging to her. Nanoha's bed was perfectly made, the living area as neat as it always had been. Only this time, no one would come home to it after she left. Carefully, she double checked to make sure she had the few sets of clothes she had acquired since her arrival before nodding to herself and leaving the room. Walking down the hallway, she felt her heart ache at the thought of leaving the base, but knew that if she didn't then it would cause even more trouble for Hayate and the rest who had helped her so much.

"Fate-san!" Yuuno's voice made the woman stop. The blonde turned to see the group of her friends all together. "Where are you going?"

"To the other base… I made a deal with them to transfer, and it has been three days since then… I don't want to cause anyone any more trouble than I already have… Even if I have to be close to that pervert for a while before I go home…"

"Actually," Yuuno stepped forward. "You won't have to… Fate-san, I completed the device that can send you back."

Fate felt the bag slip off of her shoulder and hit the floor. "…Really?" Her voice shook, eyes widening when the male nodded. "I can… go home?" Another nod came and she couldn't help but step forward and wrap the man in a tight hug. "Yuuno… Thank you!"

"You're welcome," he replied back softly, hugging her back. "Nanoha gave her life on the mission to return you to your home… We all feel that she would have wanted to you to return as soon as possible." Breaking the hug, he tried to smile at her as best he could. "Besides, it made me feel better working on something that meant so much to her."

"You guys…" Fate wiped her eyes and sniffed, trying not to cry. "Thank you so much…"

"I'm sure you don't want to wait," Hayate spoke up softly. "You aren't meant to transfer until tonight… I can send you on a mission until then." She tried to smile at her. "Fate-chan, I'm officially ordering you to test Yuuno's device…"

"Ma'am," Fate felt herself salute out of habit, voice gentle and caring.

"Let's go," Signum told them, picking up Fate's bag and slipping it over her shoulder to carry for the girl. Together, the group walked through the warm afternoon air and to the building next door. The path to Yuuno's personal area was made quickly and before long, Fate stood in front of what appeared to be an empty doorway surrounded by computers.

"This will create a space fold, much like our ships do," Yuuno explained briefly. "Instead of putting in a place to exit, we are using the relic's power to send you through a rift back to your own reality… I set the exit location in the park like where we found you, but I can't guarantee that you will appear there… This is dangerous, just so you know."

"I understand," Fate nodded, calling forth her barrier jacket. "Before I go, though…" She looked at each of the people she had met in turn. "I want to say how much I appreciate all of you… helping me, despite everything…" Each one nodded at her and took turns giving the girl a comforting hug.

"One more thing," Hayate stepped forward and offered Fate a display monitor that she just brought up. "Alicia escaped from the hospital wing this morning when she was being transferred to a holding cell… She left us this message."

Fate looked at the monitor for a moment before lifting her hand to press the button on the lower right corner of it. "Hello," Alicia's voice and image came at once. "By the time you read this, I will already be gone… I just wanted to say thank you for the hospitality you have shown me, and for offering me a new life… After what happened with Nanoha… I can't stay, even if it was an accident. I know you are all mad at me, and don't care that I'm leaving… other than being upset you can't take revenge for my actions… But I have to say it anyway… I liked Nanoha, even though we just met… She loved my sister and… I wanted to live my life with her and Fate… Like a family. This doesn't excuse my actions, but… If I could take it back and give myself instead, I would… I guess that's all I can say… I love you, sis…. I'm sorry I messed up." With that, the message ended.

"…Maybe one day I can forgive you, sis." Fate whispered softly, storing the message into Bardiche's memory banks. "Hayate… Will you be okay with Vivio?"

Hayate nodded. "Yes… I have my family to help me as well… I promise she will grow up with love. The paperwork for her to be officially adopted will be completed tonight."

"…I feel relieved that it's you." Fate smiled at her fondly. "Please tell her I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye. I'm sure this isn't what she needs to see right now after losing Nanoha." She got a sad nod and then turned to the doorway. "I guess… it's time."

"Be careful, Fate-san. We'll miss you." Yuuno told her while raising his hand to form a magical circle to activate the device.

"I'll miss you all too," Fate breathed out, getting one last confirmation nod from Yuuno. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and through the gateway.

~**~

Fate slowly opened her eyes, staring up at a starry sky above her. A cool night breeze flew around her, lifting her hair slightly from the ground she was laying on. "Are we alive?" she asked aloud, tired and feeling as if her whole body had been scrambled again.

"Yes, sir," Bardiche replied simply.

"Are we home…?" She asked after a moment's pause.

"Access to your bank account and records were successful. We're back, sir."

Fate closed her eyes again and smiled to herself, inhaling deeply. "Contact base for me please."

"Already have, sir. Distress signal has been received." Bardiche told her, making his master sigh out contently.

The blonde opened her eyes again and stared at the sky above her, taking her time in recuperating from the journey that had sapped most of her strength. "Yuuno is a genius." She finally spoke, laughing happily to herself. Carefully rolling over onto her stomach, she pushed herself up and staggered on her feet before righting herself. "Ugh… I feel woozy."

"Report for a checkup, sir."

"In a bit… First I just want to see everyone." The headlights of a car blinded her briefly before being cut off. When the door opened, she grinned as Hayate stepped out of it. "Hayate!" Jogging over to the girl, she beamed at the shocked look on her face. "I'm back!" She gave the woman a tight hug, pulling her close.

"Fa…Fate-chan…?" Hayate's voice shook and she pulled back to grab the woman' shoulders. "But… But you died!"

Fate froze, eyes wide in disbelief. "No… no I didn't!" Her mind raced. '_Did I not go to my correct timeline!? But Bardiche said my records matched!_'

"We…We found your body… After the explosion at the garden of time…"

Fate shook her head. "No! No, that wasn't me! I found a clone my mother was going to use if I didn't work… It activated during the explosion and--" Her words cut off when Hayate grabbed her again, pulling her close. '_But wait… If I saw a clone there…could it be… Alicia…?'_

"Thank God!" Hayate cried desperately, tugging at the woman painfully hard. "God… Fate-chan!" Her legs gave out and the two sank to the ground together in a hug. "When we got a distress call from Bardiche I thought… I thought someone found your device and…" She pulled back just enough to look at the woman again. "Where have you been for the past month and a half!?"

"It's a long, long story," Fate told her softly. "One I don't want to repeat several times… Right now I just want to see everyone again."

"Nanoha-chan…" Hayate wiped her eyes and stood up shakily, pulling Fate up as well. "We have to get you to her! We should call her!"

"Let's go," Fate walked around to the passenger side of Hayate's car and got in. "Don't call her, I don't want her to freak out… Just… Just get me to her please. The last thing I want is her getting scolded again for unauthorized personal flight."

Hayate nodded and wiped her eyes again, holding onto the steering wheel with both hands but not moving the car. "I… I don't think I can drive." She spoke with a half laugh, smiling at Fate with tear stained eyes.

~**~

Fate exited the car and stood in front of the house that she had spent the last few years of her life in. The kitchen and dining room lights were on and she could almost hear the clumsy sounds of Nanoha's cooking from within. "Thank you for the ride, Hayate." Fate spoke softly.

"I will wait until I'm back at the base before I tell everyone you are back, but after that we're going to come here again, you know."

"I know; I just want some time alone with her first." Fate smiled and began walking to the door, jogging the last few steps and hesitating only a moment before opening the door to her house. The familiar scent of cinnamon hit her at once, being one of Nanoha's favorite things to bake for dessert. Turning from the entry way, she jogged to the kitchen just in time to see Nanoha setting down a sheet pan of the buns.

"Vivio, you're home late," she mused to herself, back still turned. "I thought you were--"

"Nanoha." The word made the woman go stiff. Ever so slowly she turned around and looked as if a ghost had appeared before her. "Nanoha…" Fate repeated, running forward to catch her wife when she fell down. "Nanoha!"

"Fa…Fate-chan…" Nanoha shook her head. "But… I saw you… you…"

"It wasn't me," she whispered quickly, holding her close and kissing her temple. "It wasn't me; I'm okay. I'm okay, Nanoha."

"Fate-chan… Fate-chan!" Nanoha gripped her hard, trying to pull her even closer. "God, I was so sad! I was so sad, Fate-chan! You were…were…"

"Shhhhh…" Fate stroked her hair lovingly, kissing the girl again and again. "I'm here… I'm here, Nanoha."

"We-we had the funeral… we…" Nanoha shook her head and placed both her hands on Fate's cheeks. "It's really you…?"

"It's me," she confirmed, placing their foreheads together. "I'm home, Nanoha."

Nanoha hugged her once again, burying her head into the woman's neck. "Where have you been…?"

"I'll explain once everyone gets here… Right now, I just want to hold you." Carefully, she lifted the woman in her arms and began carrying her to the couch so they could sit down.

"I can walk," Nanoha whispered fondly against Fate's neck, wrapping her arms around the girl.

"I know," Fate replied gently while setting her down onto the cushions. "It's just that… I love you that much."

~To be concluded


	10. Chapter 10

**Epilogue**

Fate stared down at the gravestone before her as two workers lifted the old one with her name on it up to load into a truck. Before her now stood a new stone with a glossy cover engraved with her sister's name. The two people gave the woman a nod and got one in reply. Once the truck was started up and moved along its way, Fate took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I don't really know what to say," she began softly. The dirt was still slightly bare where the casket had been lowered, showing that the grave wasn't more than two months old. Small sprigs of grass were trying to peek through, though, and Fate felt herself become even sadder at the sight. "I know you're not the woman I met, but..." Taking another breath, she continued. "I still can't help but know that you would have ended up the same as her."

Kneeling down, Fate put a small group of flowers on the ground. "This makes it a little easier on me, since I can't see your other self anymore... I just wanted to say... I forgive you, Alicia. I don't know if it's because I'm here with Nanoha now, or if I could eventually come to terms that it was an accident... But I forgive you... I guess fate really has it out for us, huh, Sis? Nanoha can't live in your world, and you can't live in mine... I hope you two find each other in whatever afterlife people go to..." She stopped talking when she felt Nanoha's presence get closer to her. Standing up, she turned and smiled at her wife and daughter as they walked over.

"Fate-chan," Nanoha greeted with a smile. "I thought you'd be here when they changed the grave."

"Yeah," Fate agreed while accepting a hug from both girls. "It's a weird feeling... But I feel as if Alicia would understand, even if I speak to her in this world." Looking back down at the grave, she smiled fondly at it. "I'm going now, Sis... I'll come back later...Take care."

Nanoha took Fate's hand and walked with her while Vivio took the other hand. "So... What was I like over in the world you went to?"

Fate smiled. "Very nice."

"And me?" Vivio asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. "You said I was really young, right?"

Fate felt her spirits lift even more, knowing that the other Vivio was probably getting a whole new wardrobe now, courtesy of Hayate. "You were... cute."

"Cute?"

Fate brought up a monitor and showed Vivio a picture of her younger self with ice cream smeared all over her face. "Cute."

"Fate-mama!" Vivio tried to close down the monitor while Nanoha laughed at the sight. "Oh wow, I'd love to have a little Vivio again, she was so adorable back then!"

"Mama!"

Fate grinned as the two women in her life had a small argument over Vivio's maturity level. _'I hope all of you are making it okay over there.... My life is perfect again, thanks to all of you... I'll forever be in your debt._'

"Fate-mamaaaa!" Vivio called out, making the woman realize she had been left behind a little while they argued. "Come on, we'll be late meeting up with everyone!"

"Coming!" Fate jogged towards her family, feeling the warm wind brush past to gently rustle the flower petals on the grave behind her.

~Fin


End file.
